Ranchi, March 23 The Jharkhand government informed the High Court on Monday that a decision will be taken soon regarding the appointment of the Lokayukta and the chief election commissioner in the state.
Attorney General Rajiv Ranjan told a division bench of Chief Justice MS Sonak and Justice Rajesh Shankar that a meeting of the committee to select candidates for the positions of Lokayukta and chief election commissioner is scheduled for March 25.
The Jharkhand High Court, which was hearing a public interest litigation, adjourned the matter to be heard again on April 1.
The court cautioned the government that it would be constrained to pass strict orders if the government's statements were not complied with.
During the hearing, petitioner Raj Kumar informed the court that the positions of Lokayukta, chairman of the State Human Rights Commission, chief information commissioner, information commissioners, as well as other constitutional posts, have been vacant for more than three years.
The government has not made any appointments or shortlisted candidates for these positions, and people are suffering as a result, the petitioner claimed.
Kumar also mentioned in his petition that more than 30,000 applications under the RTI Act are pending due to the vacancies in the information commissioner positions.