NO SEARCH COMMITTEE UNDER 2002 LAW; CM HOLDS DECISIVE SAY IN SELECTION PROCESS, SAYS ADVOCATE HEMANT KUMAR
Face2News/Chandigarh
The post of Lokayukta in Haryana has fallen vacant following the completion of the five-year tenure of retired Justice Haripal Verma on September 10, 2026, even as the State is expected to initiate the process for appointment of his successor.
Justice Verma had taken oath and assumed charge as Haryana Lokayukta on September 11, 2021. His statutory five-year tenure consequently came to an end last week.
According to Advocate Hemant Kumar, practicing at the Punjab & Haryana High Court, the Haryana Lokayukta Act, 2002 prescribes a five-year term for the Lokayukta from the date on which he enters upon office. Significantly, he said, the Act contains no provision enabling an outgoing Lokayukta to continue in office merely until a successor is appointed after expiry of the prescribed tenure.
‘Vacancy Cannot Be Filled Through Any Search Committee’
Hemant Kumar pointed out that the 2002 legislation also does not provide for constitution of any Search Committee or Selection-cum-Search Committee for identifying candidates for the office of Lokayukta.
The Act lays down specific eligibility requirements for the post, under which a person who is or has been a Judge of the Supreme Court, or who is or has been a Chief Justice or Judge of a High Court, can be appointed as Lokayukta, subject to the statutory requirements.
CM’s Role At the Centre of Appointment Process
What makes the Haryana mechanism particularly significant, according to the Advocate, is the manner in which Section 3 of the Haryana Lokayukta Act, 2002 structures the appointment process.
Under the provision, the Lokayukta is appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister. Before tendering such advice, however, the Chief Minister is required to consult the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and the Leader of the Opposition.
Where the proposed appointee is or has been a Judge of the Supreme Court or a Chief Justice of a High Court, consultation with the Chief Justice of India is contemplated. Where the proposed appointee is or has been a Judge of a High Court, the Chief Minister is required to consult the Chief Justice of the Punjab & Haryana High Court.
Hemant Kumar, however, has drawn attention to a crucial qualification in the statutory scheme: the consultation contemplated under the Act is not binding upon the Chief Minister.
“Thus, while the Act requires consultation with the constitutional functionaries specified in Section 3, the final advice to the Governor remains with the Chief Minister. The statutory consultations, therefore, do not operate as a veto or concurrence mechanism,” he said.
‘Consultation Cannot Be Equated With Concurrence’
According to Hemant Kumar, the distinction between consultation and concurrence assumes considerable importance in the appointment of Haryana’s next Lokayukta.
He said that, on the face of the statutory framework, the State Government would not be required to constitute a separate search committee before initiating the appointment process. Instead, the legally prescribed consultation mechanism under Section 3 would have to be followed before the Chief Minister tenders advice to the Governor.
He further said that the State may formally notify through a Gazette notification that the consultations contemplated under Section 3(2) have been undertaken with the Speaker, Leader of the Opposition and, depending upon the proposed candidate’s judicial background, the Chief Justice of India or the Chief Justice of the Punjab & Haryana High Court.
New Lokayukta Appointment Likely by December 10
With the office now vacant, Hemant Kumar said the statutory process for filling the post could culminate in the appointment of a new Lokayukta within the applicable statutory period, with December 10, 2026 emerging as the outer date on the basis of the three-month period referred to in the Act.
The vacancy assumes significance as the Lokayukta is a key statutory institution intended to examine allegations of corruption and maladministration involving public functionaries.
“The immediate issue is not merely filling a vacant post but ensuring that the appointment process strictly conforms to the statutory scheme enacted by the Haryana Legislature,” Hemant Kumar said.
He added that the manner in which the next appointment is made would be closely watched, particularly because the 2002 Act does not envisage a conventional search-and-selection committee and expressly places the advice of the Chief Minister at the heart of the appointment mechanism.
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