Kolkata, Dec 1 The West Bengal government on Monday recommended retired Justice Rabindranath Samanta as the state’s new Lokayukta. The recommendation was made after an annual meeting of the Lokayukta Committee, which was chaired by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Justice Samanta, who retired as a Calcutta High Court judge in June 2023, will succeed Justice (Retired) Ashim Kumar Roy, who served as Lokayukta from November 2018 and continued till August 2025, after a two-year extension granted in 2023.
The new Lokayukta's name has been recommended by a panel chaired by the chief minister. His appointment will be made by the Governor CV Ananda Bose, following which he will take the oath.
Samanta's rise to Lokayukta caps a judicial career spanning more than three decades, including key magisterial and district postings, serving as Registrar of the Calcutta High Court and later as Chief Judge of the City Civil Court before being elevated to the Calcutta High Court bench in 2021. At present, he is serving as the chairperson of the West Bengal Real Estate Appellate Tribunal.
Just like Lokpal at the Centre, the Lokayukta is a state-level anti-corruption authority that investigates complaints against government officials and public servants to ensure accountability and transparency.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, who was invited by the state government to attend the meeting, boycotted it for the fourth consecutive year.
"I am not attending the Lokayukta meeting. I will not sit with a chief minister who is heading a corrupt government. After seeing out party MP Khagen Murmu drenched in blood, no sane person can sit next to those who have the blood of BJP workers on their hands," said Adhikari on Friday.
In a letter to the state government, the BJP MLA accused the administration of repeatedly violating constitutional norms, saying that his presence would legitimise an unconstitutional process.
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