Former Judge of Gauhati High Court, Justice (Retd) Prasanta Kumar Deka today sworn-in as the new Chairperson of the Arunachal Pradesh Lokayukta.
Retired IAS officer from the State, Sang Phuntsok, also took oath as a Member of the anti-corruption ombudsman body.
Arunachal Pradesh Governor Lt General (Retd) KT Parnaik administered the oath of office to the newly-appointed Chairperson and member in a brief ceremony held at the Vivekananda Hall of Raj Bhavan here.
Chief Minister Pema Khandu, Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein, Cabinet Ministers, senior officials, including Chief Secretary Manish Kumar Gupta, and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
Following his swearing-in, Justice Deka called on Governor Parnaik.
During the interaction, the Governor underscored the pivotal role of the Lokayukta in strengthening democratic governance.
He described it as not merely a statutory body but a “moral guardian” entrusted with upholding integrity in public life.
Advising the Chairperson to adopt a proactive approach, the Governor stressed on promoting transparency, ensuring accountability, and combating corruption in governance.
“A corruption-free system is the foundation of people’s trust in governance, and institutions like the Lokayukta are key to achieving it,” he said.
The Governor expressed hope that the annual report of the Lokayukta would serve as a mirror reflecting the functioning of public institutions while guiding the State to strengthen mechanisms
of accountability and good governance.
Born on November 5, 1959, Justice (Retd) Prasanta Kumar Deka began his career with M/S Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation, Namrup, and later served in OIL Pipeline (HQ), Narengi, for a
short period before joining the Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB) in November 1984 as an Assistant Engineer. He voluntarily retired as Assistant Executive Engineer in November 1995 to pursue law and was enrolled as an advocate in 1996.
He practiced primarily on the civil side before the Lower Judiciary and the Gauhati High Court. He was sworn in as an Additional Judge of the Gauhati High Court on November 15, 2016, and
became a permanent Judge on November 12, 2018.
It may be mentioned that the position of the Lokayukta Chairperson was lying vacant following the death of the first Lokayukta Chief, Justice (Retd) Prasanta Kumar Saikia, on April 27, 2024. He was sworn in as the Lokayukta Chairperson on June 27, 2019.
