Haryana Pushes for Transparency with Mandatory E-Hearings for Lokayukta

Chandigarh : The Lokayukta in Haryana will now adopt Video Conferencing (VC) facilities for its proceedings.

This directive comes as part of a broader state government initiative aimed at leveraging audio-visual electronic means for all official interactions, aligning with new central criminal laws and Supreme Court guidelines.

A letter in this regard has been issued by Haryana Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi to all administrative secretaries, heads of departments, board/corporation managing directors, divisional commissioners, deputy commissioners, sub-divisional officers, and the Registrar of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, emphasizing strict compliance with these new instructions.

The decision to integrate VC facilities is rooted in the enabling provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.

Specifically, Section 336 (Evidence of public servants, experts, police officers in certain cases) and Section 530 (Trial and proceedings to be held in electronic mode) explicitly promote the use of audio-visual electronic means for all proceedings

. Furthermore, the Supreme Court of India's ruling in Civil Appeal Nos. 23-24 of 2024, titled "The State of Uttar Pradesh & Others Vs. Association of Retired Supreme Court and High Court Judges at Allahabad & Others," has formulated a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) that actively encourages the appearance of government officials through video conferencing.

In response to these developm

ents, the State Government, through Notification No. 2/18/2024-5JJ (1) dated January 31, 2025, from the Department of Administration Justice, has officially notified the establishment of Designated Conferencing Facilities.

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