Gujarat Assembly passes the Lokayukta Bill 2013


Ahmedabad, April 1: The Gujarat Assembly today passed the controversial Gujarat Lokayukta amendment bill, 2013 amid a walk-out by Opposition Congress members this evening.

The bill curtails the 'primacy' of the Chief Justice of the state High Court and the Governor in the matter of appointment of the Lokayukta.

The Lokayukta Aayog Bill, 2013 gives all the powers of the appointment to a selection committee headed by Chief Minister and wants state Governor to act on the recommendations of this committee.

The new Bill comes after the state government lost a bitter fight legally and politically when Governor Kamla Beniwal, bypassing the state government, appointed Justice R A Mehta as the state Lokayukta which was upheld by the High Court as well as Supreme Court in January this year.

Supreme Court had ruled that primacy of the opinion of Chief Justice of the High Court in the Lokayukta Act was final.

The Gujarat government on the one hand filed curative petition against the Supreme Court order and on the other, has brought this Bill in the Assembly today.

Congress has accused the Gujrat government of having double standards regarding the Lokayukta Bill.

The new Bill also proposed a special provision which gives pivotal power to the state government in excluding any 'public functionaries' from the jurisdiction of the Lokayukta.

As per another significant provision (Sec 12(8)), whoever discloses to the public or to the press any information or publishes such information in contravention of the provisions of this section should invite two years' imprisonment and also a fine of Rs 2 lakhs.

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