File photo of Indian President Pranab Mukherjee
Lokayuktas must not carry out vilification campaigns to defame or destroy reputations in the name of checking corruption, President Pranab Mukherjee said in New Delhi on Friday.
"It must be ensured that in the name of checking corruption, vilification campaigns are not carried out to defame or destroy reputations," Mr Mukherjee said at the 11th All India Lokayukta Conference in New Delhi.
He said the institution of Lokayukta was an ally to good governance, not an obstruction to development.
"The Lokayuktas must at the same time remember that their duty is not just to indict public functionaries when they are guilty but also to protect them when nothing is found wrong in their conduct and to correct wrong perceptions about them with equal force and earnestness," he said.
Mr Mukherjee said state governments must facilitate Lokayuktas in the full implementation of the legislative mandate entrusted upon them and not see them as a nuisance or interfering in governance.
Lokayuktas must also be provided adequate financial and administrative autonomy, he said.