(1) As and from the commencement of this Act, there shall be established by notification in the Official Gazette, a body to be called the "Lokayukta, Maharashtra State".
(2) The Lokayukta shall consist of-
(a) a Chairperson, who is or has been the Chief Justice of High Court or a Judge of Supreme Court or a Judge of Bombay High Court; and
(b) such number of Members, not exceeding four out of whom two shall be Judicial Members.
(3) A person shall be eligible to be appointed,-
(a) as a Judicial Member, if he is or has been a Judge of a High Court:
Provided that, a person who is or who has been a Judge not below the rank of Principal District Judge may be appointed as Judicial Member, if a person who is or has been Judge of High Court is not available;
(b) as a Member other than a Judicial Member, if he is a person of impeccable integrity and outstanding ability having special knowledge and expertise of not less than twenty-five years in the matters relating to anti-corruption policy, public administration, vigilance, finance including insurance and banking, law, financial management.
(4) The Chairperson or a Member shall not be,-
(i) a member of the Parliament or a Member of the Legislature of any State or Union territory;
(ii) a person convicted of any offence involving moral turpitude;
(iii) a person of less than forty-five years of age, on the date of assuming office as Chairperson or Member, as the case may be;
(iv) a member of any Panchayat, Zilla Parishad, Nagar Panchayat, Municipal Council or Municipal Corporation;
(v) a member of a body, corporation or society, substantially financed by the State Government;
(vi) a person who has been removed or dismissed from service of the Union or a State, and shall not hold any office of trust or profit (other than his office as the Chairperson or a Member) or be connected with any political party or carry on any business or practice any profession and accordingly, before he enters upon his office, a person appointed as the Chairperson or a Member, as the case may be, shall, if-
(a) he holds any office of trust or profit, resign from such office; or
(b) he is carrying on any business, sever his connection with the conduct and management of such business; or
(c) he is practicing any profession, cease to practice such profession.
(5) Every person appointed as the Chairperson or Member shall, before entering upon his office, make and subscribe, before the Governor, or some person appointed in that behalf by him, an oath or affirmation in the form set out for the purpose in the First Schedule.
(6) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) or (2), every person who on the date of commencement of this Act is serving as Lokayukta or Upa-Lokayuktas under the Maharashtra Lokayukta and Upa-Lokayuktas Act, 1971 (Mah. XLVI of 1971) shall, on and from such commencement, be the Chairperson or, as the case may be, the Member of the Lokayukta established under sub-section (1) and they shall continue to hold the office on the same terms and conditions on which they were appointed prior to the commencement to this Act, till completion of their term of office.