SKM MLAs petition High Court with challenge on appointment of Lokayukta

The Division Bench of Sikkim High Court comprising of Justice SP Wangdi and Justice Meenakshi M Rai on 21 August admitted a writ petition filed by two Sikkim Krantikari Morcha MLAs, Kunga Nima Lepcha and Ugen Nedup Bhutia, challenging the appointment of Lokayukta Chairman for Sikkim, Justice [retd.] Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta. The SKM duo has argued that the State government has not followed the statutory law while constituting the selection committee to appoint the Lokayukta.

Sikkim Lokayukta Amendment Bill details selection process for appointment of Lokayukta

GANGTOK, 10 Sept: The two-day Summer Session of Sikkim Legislative Assembly began today with the introduction of one new legislative Bill and three Amendment Bills. Chief Minister Pawan Chamling who is also the Minister In-charge of Law and Justice Department introduced the Sikkim Lokayukta (Amendment) Bill detailing the process by which Sikkim will choose its Lokayukta. It may be recalled that the Sikkim Lokayukta Bill of 2010 had received Presidential consent recently as one of the final official tasks completed by the former President of India, Pratibha Devi Singh Patil, before the present incumbent took office.
The statement of object & reasons accompanying the amendment Bill explains that these are required “to deal with typographical errors and also to streamline the functioning of the Lokayukta in the state”.
Amendment 5 of Section 3 has proposed to substitute in section 3 of the original Act “in the proviso to sub-section (1), for the words ‘after the consultation with the Chief Justice of High Court of Sikkim, Speaker of Sikkim  Legislative Assembly as Member, Leader of Opposition in the State Legislative Assembly if there is any’” with “the Governor on the basis of the recommendation of a Selection Committee consisting of the Chief Minister as Chairman, Chief Justice of High Court of Sikkim as member, Speaker of Sikkim  Legislative Assembly as Member, Leader of Opposition in the State Legislative Assembly, if any Member and an eminent person to be nominated by the Cabinet as Member.”
The proposed amendment has also inserted two more sub-sections, qualifying that the recommendation of the Selection Committee shall be based on the decision of the Majority of the members present in the Selection Committee meeting and specifies in sub-section (3) that no appointment of Lokayukta shall be deemed invalid merely by reason of absence of any member in the Selection Committee members.
Another proposed amendment empowers the Lokayuta to inquire or investigate, on receipt of a complaint, “any action which is taken by or with the general or specific approval of a Minister or the Chief Secretary or a Secretary or member of State Legislature” or any public servant.
An amendment also proposes that the provision of limitation will not apply in cases where the State Government refers any allegation or grievance or action to the Lokayukta for investigation.
A proposed amendment also provides for the Lokayukta to proceed with further proceedings, on matters pending before any other authority and referred to the Lokayukta under specific conditions, from the stage at which it was pending before any such authority earlier.
The rest of the amendments are essentially grammatical or typographical corrections in the original Act.
Discussions and voting on the proposed Amendment Bill are scheduled to be taken up on 11 September.

Sikkim Lokayukta Bill receives Presidential assent

GANGTOK, 27 Aug: The Sikkim Lokayukta Bill is now an Act. For the past nearly two years [20 months] since it was passed by the State Legislative Assembly, the Bill had been languishing and awaiting President’s assent. This nod has finally arrived and the State government can now establish its own Lokayukta. With the entire Lokpal/ Lokayukta issue in controversy for the past 2 years the Governor had forwarded the Bill to the President of India soon after it had been passed by the Sikkim Assembly in December, 2010. While the controversy over Lokpal raged on in other parts of India, Sikkim’s Lokayukta Bill was kept pending by the President. However, on 16 July, 2012, in what must be among her final orders of business, still the President of India Pratibha Devi Patil Singh cleared the Bill allowing it to become an Act.
The Sikkim Lokayukta Bill, Bill No. 21 of 2010, was passed by the Legislative Assembly on 29 December, 2010 and sent for the Governor’s assent the same day. The Governor, in turn, forwarded the Bill to the Union government on 13 January, 2011 where it was pending with the Public Affairs Department since.
The Bill deals with subject matters which come under the Concurrent List and that the approval of the Union government was thus felt necessary. Normally, if there are any inconsistencies noticed in a State Bill the Centre forwards its comments and suggestions to be accommodated in the Bill. However, no such comments were received in connection with the Lokayukta Bill.
Earlier, it had been informed that the long pendency of the Bill with the centre was due to the fact that the Central government was also in the process of formulating and passing a central Lokpal Bill. Had the Parliament passed such a Bill it might have required the Sikkim Assembly to reframe its Bill according to the provisions of the central Act. While the Lokpal Bill had been placed in Parliament last December, it could not be passed.
The opposition parties in the state will not be too happy with the President according approval to the Sikkim Lokayukta Act as both the State Congress and the State BJP had opposed the Bill. In fact, SPCC president Nar Bahadur Bhandari had petitioned the Governor not to accord his assent to the Bill. Mr Bhandari claimed that the bill had been motivated by wrong reasons. The state BJP had claimed that the bill was intended at erasing all evidence of corruption in the government departments.
The Sikkim Lokayukta Bill, now an Act, seeks to subscribe accountability on public authorities and check corruption. The primary motive of the Act is to take up and redress citizens’ grievances, especially those related to corruption in the functioning of public bodies or authorities including that of favouritism.
As per the Act the Lokayukta is to be appointed by the Governor and be given the responsibility to conduct enquiry and investigations after consultations with the Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court, the Speaker of the Assembly and the Leader of Opposition. It also provides that the Lokayukta initiate enquiry on the receipt of complaints and after the approval of a Minister, Chief Secretary or Secretary.

A year on, Sikkim Lokayukta Bill still pending with Centre

CENTRAL DRAFT LOKPAL BILL ALSO PENDING WITH STATE GOVT
GANGTOK, 20 Nov: It is almost a year now since the Sikkim Lokayukta Bill was tabled and passed by the State Legislative Assembly, but the Bill is yet to be enacted; that is to say, it is yet to become a full fledged Act and notified for implementation. On the other hand, many states have already constituted their own Lokayuktas. On enquiry, it was learnt that the Nill (No. 21 of 2010) is pending with the union government.