Yet another move was initiated by lokayukta to provide more teeth to the institution on the lines of neighboring Madhya Pradesh.
Former lokayuktya Justice (Retd) NK Mehrotra had made similar attempts during Samajwadi Party’s regime which however failed to bear fruits.
With the change of guard in UP, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is likely to empower the lokayukta with more powers so that rampant corruption in high places of the government could be checked and culprits be sent to jail.
Sources in the government confirmed that the new lokayukta, Justice (Retd) Sanjay Mishra sent a proposal recommending some changes in the existing lokayukta Act as it does not give adequate power to the Ombudsman to take corrective measures and check corruption at high places.
Sources said that just like his predecessor, Mishra too wants that the UP lokayukta should have similar powers as his colleagues in neighboring Madhya Pradesh.
Sources further confirmed that the Ombudsman strongly recommended that he be given power to start probe `suo-motu’ in case he received any information of corruption or irregularity at high places.
Till now, the hands of the lokayukta are tied with a rule that no probe could be started unless a complaint was received on a prescribed format supported by strong evidences to buttress charges of corruption against an government official.
Sources said that under the above conditions, 90 percent of applicants who turned up with inputs of corruption before lokayukta, failed to complete the formality which restrict the Ombudsman from initiating a probe.
Similarly, the Ombudsman wanted that just on lines of Madhya Pradesh, UP lokayukta should be given power to carry out search operation on his own without having to take permission from the government.
Presently in UP, if the lokayukta wanted to start a probe against any officer by sleuths of Vigilance Establishment, he has to recommend it matter to the state government. Contrarily in MP, the lokayukta could directly order a probe by the Vigilance department officials.
The lokayukta also recommended that to prosecute a guilty official, he be empowered to give orders directly and not to wait for the state government’s nod. At present, in UP, lokayukta has to recommend it to the state government and discretion of prosecution sanction rests with the latter. In MP, lokayukta has its own prosecuting officer and does not have to depend on government advocates.
In another important recommendation, the lokayukta has suggested atht akin to Madhya Pradesh, the Ombudsman be allowed to have `special courts’ for speedy trial of officers accused of irregularities.
At present, majority of corrupt officers held guilty in lokayukta probe, go scot free due to the lengthy process of prosecution sanction as well as trial in courts.