Odisha has a vast experience in coalition politics. Corruption in public life has been an issue in most of the elections and even in the day-to-day functioning of the polity. The present ruling party in the State swears by ruthless action against any corrupt element. Way before an intensive movement for a lokpal Act, the State legislature enacted the Odisha lokpal and lokayukta Act, 1995. This Act came into existence, was put into operation and some of the reports of the lokpal or his interactions with the Government or a special report to the Governor did indicate a discomfort in the Government for such an institution dealing with probity at high levels of administration. The shield of sanction was not applicable to the proceedings before the lokpal. Things continued with fluctuating fortunes and Justice PK Patra, who was the last lokpal so far, passed away in January 2013. This post has remained vacant from the date of the death of Justice Patra.
A very convenient handle for creating a logjam came with the passing of the lokpal and lokayukta Act, 2013 by the Union Parliament and the same came into operation on January 1, 2014. After the Central Act was passed, the State Government in Odisha wanted to project itself as a pioneer in transparency and anti-corruption measures. This led to the passing of the Odisha lokayukta Act, 2014. The President of India gave assent to the Bill as passed in January 2015. The 2014 Act repeals the 1995 Act. The entire Central Act of 2014 has remained inoperative in the absence of a notification under Section 1(4) of the said Act.
The overall scenario is very interesting. The 1995 Act has been rendered inoperative and the 2014 Act has not been made operative. In any view of the matter, in such a piquant situation, if the 1995 Act is construed to be having the force of law, it is without any lokpal in office. It would be incongruous to argue that a reformatory Act and rectifying Act should remain inoperative, that too when it was enacted after keeping the experience of almost two decades in view. There is no appointment under the 1995 Act of a lokpal. The institution is defunct, inoperative and does not subserve the social purposes for which it was created. The overhead and establishment costs of lakhs and crores of rupees are continuing to be incurred in maintaining the office of the lokpal/lokayukta. But when it comes to an ordinary citizen, there is no forum to agitate his grievances against the higher echelon for an appropriate adjudication.
We now have a very unusual situation of subversion of legislative will. A law operative for almost two decades has been made inoperative and defunct almost by design. The amending law has been prevented from being inoperative. The post of lokpal/lokayukta has remained vacant from January2013 onwards. The resultant situation is that the professed transparency and anti-corruption war of the Government are mere lip service. They would rather than have an expanded vigilance organisation than have any institution such as lokpal. It is ironical that a State has tried to take a credit of conforming to the Central law within one month (though the law permitted one year) makes the law unavailable, defunct and inoperative. It looks as though, by a machination, the executive has prevented reformatory legislations from being operational and effective. In fact, this looks to be a deliberate inaction to subvert the entire statutory edifice providing the high forum of the lokpal/lokayukta. The plea of discretion of the Government to evaluate the ground-level situation is irrelevant in this case as there was an Act of 1995, which is now sought to be replaced by an Act of 2014. Nothing new is being introduced except some institutional modifications so as to bring the 2014 State Act in conformity with the 2013 Central Act.
Such action or inaction on the part of the State Government is not in accord with its professed aggressive anti-corruption policy. One must appreciate that inaction has demonstrated its valuable role in subverting the political will of the people as expressed through a legislation having the assent of the President of India. This forum is to provide remedial modalities relating to alleged corruption in highest of levels. The entire community of Odisha and, more so, the largest number of the youths have passively endured the denial of such a public grievance facility by executive subterfuge. It is time demands were emphatically made for the 2014 Act to be operationalised and the appointment of lokayukta made there under along with framing of rules, etc., as required. The objective and endeavour has to be geared towards making the institutional framework functional and operative.
The foundational faction causing the convenient inaction is vitiated by legal malice. It smacks of unprincipled politics. The executive has, by their designed inaction, put to sleep a vital legislation.
This is a dangerous trend and it does not throw up happy symptoms regarding the functioning of our democracy. What the executive government wants to take credit of, receives a quiet burial without any audible voice raising the issue. legislators have also not taken this issue to the people. The youth power has been indifferent to it, but it is they who are the greatest loss-bearers in the perverse methods of sociopolitical engineering. The hypocrisy of the situation is so apparent that it does not require any analysis. The crime is against the society and the rebellion against it must emanate from all the sections of the polity. The torchbearers have to be the youths, but others cannot take a backseat. The issues are basic and crucial. And they involve all of us!
(The writer, a Senior Advocate, is a former All India Service officer, a former diplomat, a former editor, a former president of Orissa High Court Bar Association and a former Advocate General of Odisha. jayantdas@hotmail.com)