Thiruvananthapuram: The grievances being filed before the Lok Ayukta, a state-level authority for fast redressal of public grievances, witnessed a sharp fall over the last few years, with just 67 cases moved before it so far this year.
It marks a severe departure from the 1264 cases registered in 2016, when the first Pinarayi Vijayan government assumed office.
The Lok Ayukta deals with nepotism, corruption, abuse of power, and maladministration complaints made by the general public against the government or its administration, which includes public servants, too. The complaints can be submitted on a white paper carrying a court fee stamp of Rs.150. Those unable to afford a lawyer can argue for themselves.
The Kerala Lok Ayukta has stirred up controversies on a number of occasions when it pronounced the verdict against former minister K T Jaleel and while handling the case involving Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan against the alleged mishandling of the Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund, etc. The amendments made to the Kerala Lok Ayukta Act too triggered controversy.
Jaleel landed in a soup when he appointed one of his close relatives, identified as K T Adeeb, as general manager of the Kerala State Minorities Development Finance Corporation. The case led to his resignation as a minister. Following this, Jaleel launched a scathing personal attack on Lok Ayukta Justice Cyriac Joseph.
Although the hearing in the case against Jaleel had been completed several months ago, the verdict was pronounced just ahead of the counting of votes but after the polling process in the assembly election. Following this, the Opposition accused the Lok Ayukta of delaying the pronouncement to “save” the LDF government amid the polls. Though the incident caused a severe dent in its credibility, the Lok Ayukta chose not to respond to the allegations.
When a case was registered against Pinarayi Vijayan, the LDF government chose to amend the Lok Ayukta Act itself. As per the act that existed, a person who was found guilty by the Lok Ayukta could not even appeal against the judgment in the High Court without resigning from his post. When this clause triggered a debate before being promulgated in 1999, both the CPI(M) and the CPI argued that the clause would strengthen the Lok Ayukta.
Even as the present government brought about an amendment to take down this very same clause, Governor Arif Mohammad Khan is yet to give his consent. Speculations are rife that he would soon sign the proposal, yielding to the pressure exerted by the State Government.
The sharp decline in the number of cases before the Lok Ayukta is also attributed to an order by the Kerala High Court that curtailed the authority of the Upa-Lok Ayuktas in registering cases suo moto. Similarly, several of the cases against the officials and elected representatives at the local body level have been shifted to the ombudsman for Local Self-Government Institutions, which were previously handled by the Lok Ayukta. The ombudsman, however, only possesses the authority to make recommendations.
Number of cases before the consideration of Lokayukta
2016:1264
2017: 1673
2018: 1578
2019: 1057
2020 : 205
2021: 227
2022: 305
20203: 67 (till now)
