Over 20 corruption cases pending across the State
PANAJI
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday announced the appointment of retired Bombay High Court judge Justice Sandeep Shinde as the new Goa Lokayukta, filling a post that has been vacant since December 2024.
The Goan was the first to report that the State government had finalised Justice Shinde’s name for the post.
Speaking to the media, Sawant said the government would forward Justice Shinde’s name to the Bombay High Court for formal approval. “The swearing-in ceremony will be held after that,” he said.
Justice Shinde earlier served at the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court. He is best known for his October 2022 order that asked former Goa mining leaseholders to vacate their leases within one month. This order was later upheld by the Supreme Court and cleared the way for e-auctioning of mineral blocks in the State.
He has also dealt with several cases linked to the Maratha reservation issue.
The long delay in appointing a Lokayukta has put more than 20 pending corruption cases on hold across Goa.
Justice Shinde retired on January 16, 2023, after six years as a High Court judge. Before becoming a judge in 2017, he served as Chief Public Prosecutor in Mumbai in 2015.
In November 2023, the Maharashtra government appointed him to head a committee to oversee the issue of Maratha-Kunbi and Kunbi-Maratha caste certificates.
This role has been extended till June this year.
