Drop in case disposals compared to the previous Lokayukta’s term
Abdul Wahab Khan
Panaji: An analysis of case statistics from the Goa Lokayukta office showed that corruption and maladministration complaints declined during the tenure of the Lokayukta who retired on December 15, 2024. Not a single suo motu case was initiated during the three-and-a-half-years.
The data showed a sharp drop in cases received by the anti-corruption ombudsman, Justice Ambadas Haribhau Joshi, particularly when compared to the tenure of his predecessor, Justice PK Misra.
During Justice Misra’s term—2016 to 2020 — the institution saw 46 cases in 2016, 64 cases in 2017, 89 cases in 2018, 97 cases in 2019, and 105 cases in 2020. Under him, 69 cases were disposed of in 2020 alone.
However, the situation changed markedly under Justice Misra’s successor. Only 10 cases were filed in 2021, 6 cases in 2022, and 5 cases in 2023. The year 2024 saw 8 cases until December.
Sources said a key factor for this could be the controversial circular issued in May 2022, which introduced a new filing procedure.
Legal experts and anti-corruption activists said that this procedural complexity effectively created barriers for potential complainants, leading to numerous complaints being rejected for non-compliance with the new requirements.
This stands in stark contrast to Justice Misra’s tenure, during which the complaints filing process was more straightforward and accessible to the general public. This resulted in higher public participation in anti-corruption efforts, as evidenced by the consistently high number of cases received and disposed of during his tenure.
On case disposal, the data showed that while Justice Misra’s term saw significant disposal rates, the recent years show reduced cases. For instance, in 2023, only 3 cases were disposed off out of 22 cases.
