Lokayukta in Nagaland

Kezhokhoto Savi [dropcap]L[/dropcap]OKAYUKTA is to be established in Nagaland so as to punish the corrupt public servants and also for those who are amassing wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income which may be similar to the case of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa. Lokayukta is derived from Sanskrit word which means “appointed by the people”. It is an anti-corruption ombudsman organization in the Indian states and the origin of Lokayukta can be trace back to the ombudsman in Scandinavian countries. Lokayukta can be defined in simple terms as an Anti-Corruption Act or it can also be considered as a watchdog to pinpoint the wrong doing of the administration, to look into the complaints of the people and to suggest measures to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the Government. The establishment of the institution of Lokayukta in the state is to provide clean, transparent, and accountable Government of the people. The Lokayukta Bill was passed by the Parliament to fight against Corruption. Corruption is internationally recognized as a major problem which is capable of threatening the Social, Economic, and Political development of a country. Corruption is anti-National, Anti-Life, Anti-Poor, and Anti-Economic development. The Supreme Court also remarked that corruption is like disease called cancer and if not detected in time it grows bigger and bigger and it will malignise the polity of the country leading to disastrous consequence. And because of the increase of corruption in our society it gave birth to Lokayukta.Corruption means misuse of entrusted power for private or personal gain. In the context of Nagaland, Corruption has been deeply rooted in the field of administration as well as political and judicial system and some of the common corrupt practices are as follows ; i) abuse of power – using position or status to discriminate somebody or gain something from that person ii) nepotism – giving jobs to family, relatives and family members iii) favoritism – giving unfair opportunity to friends iv) extortion – obtained by force, threats or unfair means v) bribery – taking money to give people’s job, profession, treatment or dishonestly persuade someone for help through cash vi) embezzlement – stealing money or resources that is under one’s control vii) fraud – making false claims for benefits, etc. States like Orissa, Maharashtra, Delhi, Karnataka, A.P, Bihar, Rajasthan, Gujarat, M.P, Himachal Pradesh, U.P, Haryana and Goa has implemented this Lokayukta and has been functioning effectively in fighting against corruption. And Karnataka Lokayukta is considered to be the most powerful institute in the country as it leads to the investigation of Karnataka Chief Minister in relating to illegal mining in the year 2011. Lokayukta is a person who is appointed by the Governor, he must be a retired judge of the Supreme Court or a retired Chief Justice of a High Court and an independent person not holding any office of profit, and members are not to be member of parliament or legislature of state or connected with any political party and comprising of state vigilance commissioner and a jurist or an eminent administrator as members known as Upa-lokayukta function together as an independent body which is free from the influence of the government, politicians, ministers, etc. They have power to search and seize any document of the public servant during investigations. The main objective of Lokayukta is to curb the menace of corruption providing within the State. When any individual makes a complaint against the ‘public servant’ relating to corruption, mal-administration, favoritism, nepotism, etc, the Lokayukta looks into such matters and investigates and if they find out that the allegations are true, the public servant is punished. Public servant includes the Chief Minister, Cabinet Ministers, the M.L.A, the Vice-Chancellor of Universities, Bureaucrats, Secretaries and the higher-ups of the Government department. Lokayukta is a great check on corruption, bring about transparency in the system, to make state administrative machinery citizen friendly. His function largely depends upon jurisdiction vested in him and facilities provided for taking cognizance of citizens grievances. He protects Citizens right against mal-administration, corruption, delay, inefficiency, non-transparency, abuse of position, improper conduct, etc. He is representative of legislature, powerful friend of citizens. He looks forward in establishing an ‘open Government’ securing respect for the rule of law, an educator aiming at propagating the prevention of corruption, inefficiency and oral-administration in governance. As corruption in public life is a gross violation of human rights. It is anti-people, anti-development and anti-national. It is essential that the three pillars of democracy i.e, legislature, judiciary, and executives are strong in structure and in pure in form and are un-corrupted. The writer is an Advocate and Convener ACAUT Nagaland (Legal Cell) & President NVCO