Former Chief Justice of Patna High Court and recently retired Chairman of the Goa State Human Rights Commission, Justice Prafulla Kumar Mishra will finally be installed as the Lokayukta of Goa. The post has been lying vacant since October 2013 and it took the Government of Goa at least 30 months to decide on the name of the new Lokakyukta. The government went on a search across the length and breadth of the country for a suitable candidate for the position, and finally discovered that the most suitable was already serving in the State. What remains for his appointment now is a nod from Governor Mridula Sinha.
Justice Mishra is known for his integrity and some upright bold decisions, and has been very vocal in expressing his views openly in the public on several issues, which rattles the fabric of Indian democracy and judiciary. He is going to have a busy tenure in Goa as there is much that the new Lokayukta will have on his plate in the State once he takes charge, as the State has been without a Lokayukta since October 2013.
In this period, the Department of Vigilance in Goa scrutinised about 99 names of retired judges from all over the country for the post of Goa’s Lokayukta, which has been lying vacant for last two-and-a-half years. The State government, in fact, initiated the process to look out for a new Lokayukta and the Deputy or Upa-Lokayukta nearly two years after Justice B Sudharshan Reddy resigned. The first Lokayukta of Goa, Justice Reddy, who was sworn-in in March 2013, but resigned from the post within seven months of his appointment.
In the recent past, Goa has suffered much due to the illegal mining scam and to add further fuel to the fire, scams like the Louis Berger bribery case, issues related to Special Economic Zones, Public Works Department’s tender issues and illegal recruitments in various departments of the State government, have hit the headlines. Needless to mention, the former Lokayukta, Justice Reddy, was also following the multi-crore illegal mining scam. During his tenure that lasted nearly seven months, he had received 18 complaints of which, only 16 were registered. The complaints were mainly on the issues related to mining scam and illegal recruitments in government departments.
After Justice Reddy’s resignation, Goa had no Lokayukta but it is likely that Justice Mishra will take charge soon. The Goa government did wake up from its deep slumber and lackadaisical attitude of zeroing in on a name as the State elections are approaching. The upcoming State elections are likely to be held either towards the end of this year or early next year. The delay in the appointment of a new Lokayukta has raised many eyebrows as a school of thought believes that the incumbent government would manage to get away from the flak of the Lokayukta court as the time is too short considering that the State elections are drawing close.
In the run-up to the 2012 elections, the government had promised a Lokayukta within 100 days of coming to power. The delay in appointing Justice Reddy had already drawn censure from civil society. The delay in selecting a replacement to Justice Reddy has certainly not been good for the State. The appointment of new Lokayukta was absolutely essential to bridge the trust deficit between the common people and those in power, which is anyways increasing manifold.
Yes, the people of Goa were desperately looking for the appointment of a new Lokayukta. The levels of corruption in the State have risen considerably and the Lokayukta is one authority that the people of Goa can approach to get redressal. Once the new Lokayukta takes charge, all the bodies to fight corruption will be in place. The State Information Commissioner’s position that had been vacant for many months was also filled recently. Goa is finally ready to fight corruption.
