Maharashtra Governor Swears in Four New Members to Lokayukta Institution

Mumbai, August 14: Retired Justice Surendra Pandharinath Tawade from the Bombay High Court took an oath as a judicial member of the Maharashtra Lokayukta institution. The oath-taking ceremony was conducted by Maharashtra Governor Jagdish Mukhi on Friday at Lok Bhavan in Mumbai.

Also sworn in was retired Chief District Judge Suvarna Kishor Keole as a judicial member. Additionally, retired Additional Chief Secretary Om Prakash Gupta and former Director General of Police Rashmi Shukla were sworn in as non-judicial members. These appointments were made by the Governor under the new Lokayukta Act of 2023. All members are appointed for a term of five years or until they reach the age of 70, whichever comes first.

Present at the event were Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, retired Lokayukta Justice Vidyasagar Kanade, Chief Secretary Rajesh Agrawal, and senior government officials. The Governor’s Secretary, Dr. Prashant Narnavre, read out the warrants for the appointment of the four Lokayukta members. The ceremony began and concluded with the singing of the national song, national anthem, and Maharashtra song.

Earlier, on July 14, retired Lokayukta Justice V.M. Kanade met with Governor Jagdish Mukhi to present the 53rd joint annual report on the functioning of the Lokayukta and Deputy Lokayukta for the year 2025. The report detailed the complaints received, their resolutions, and the institution’s operations during that year.

According to information released by the Lokayukta office, a total of 8,547 new complaints were received in 2025. Out of these, 3,869 complaints were not registered as they were copies of applications sent to other authorities or lacked the complainant’s signature. Consequently, 4,678 complaints were formally registered.

The report indicated that at the beginning of 2025, there were 4,287 pending cases from previous years. Thus, the Lokayukta office had a total of 8,965 cases for hearing and resolution throughout the year. Of these, 4,885 cases were resolved, while 4,080 cases remained pending by the end of the year.

–