Chandigarh, May 24 -- More than seven months after the post of Lokpal fell vacant in Punjab, the state government is yet to appoint a new anti-corruption ombudsman, leaving over 150 complaints either pending or yet to be taken up and raising concerns over the collapse of the state's statutory accountability mechanism. The vacancy arose following the retirement of justice Vinod Kumar Sharma (retd) on October 8 last year. However, despite repeated assurances from the state government, no successor has been appointed so far. A senior official in the Lokpal office said the prolonged delay has virtually paralysed the functioning of the institution. "Around 73 complaints are pending since October last year, while nearly 80 complaints received subsequently are yet to be processed," the official said, requesting anonymity. The Lokpal is an independent statutory authority mandated to investigate allegations of corruption and maladministration against senior public functionaries. The institution was initially established under the Punjab Lokpal Act, 1995, which was later amended through Punjab Act 3 of 1997 to address deficiencies. The present legislation, known as the Punjab Lokpal Act, 1996, was enacted to ensure impartial inquiries against public officials and strengthen transparency, accountability and adherence to the rule of law. In Punjab, the Lokpal is appointed on the advice of the chief minister after consultation with the Speaker of the Punjab Legislative Assembly. In cases where the appointee is a former Supreme Court judge or chief justice of a high court, consultation is required with the Chief Justice of India. If the appointee is a former high court judge, consultation must be held with the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana high court. The ambit of the Act is extensive and covers several categories of "public men", including ministers, deputy ministers, chief parliamentary secretaries, parliamentary secretaries and even the chief minister. Despite repeated attempts to seek a response, chief secretary KAP Sinha, did not respond to phone calls or messages. Advocate Nikhil Saraf of the Punjab and Haryana high court said he had repeatedly written to chief minister Bhagwant Mann and the chief secretary regarding the constitution of a Lokayukta, similar to the system in Haryana, but no action had been taken. "I have written multiple letters to chief minister Mann and the chief secretary regarding the constitution of a Lokayukta on the lines of Haryana. While the Lokpal is empowered to investigate politicians largely, a Lokayukta can also probe officers as well. Surprisingly, Punjab has not even appointed a Lokpal for the past seven months," Saraf said. Last month, the Punjab and Haryana high court issued a notice to the Punjab government on a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking judicial intervention over what the petitioner described as a "complete vacuum" in the state's anti-corruption framework due to the prolonged vacancy in the Lokpal office. The PIL stated that the chief minister had publicly assured in October 2025 that the appointment would be made expeditiously, but no steps have been taken even after more than seven months. The petition described the prolonged inaction as a violation of fundamental rights under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution and invoked the doctrine of legitimate expectation....