In Which of the following States, the office of lokayukta was first established?

Maharashtra is the correct answer. The Maharashtra Lokayukta and Upa-Lokayukta Act, 1971 created the institution of Lokayukta, and it is widely recorded as the first state to set up this office. The Lokayukta is an ombudsman that examines complaints of corruption and maladministration against public functionaries, and its origin is linked to the Administrative Reforms Commission's recommendations and the Scandinavian ombudsman model.

• Uttar Pradesh is wrong: the UP Lokayukta Act came later, in 1975.
• Bihar is wrong: its Lokayukta law followed in 1974, after Maharashtra.
• Odisha is the tricky one. Its Orissa Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 1970 created a Lokpal, an ombudsman with a different name and structure, and it predates Maharashtra's law. But the question asks for the Lokayukta office, and the standard answer remains Maharashtra.

Mains angle: the gap between the Lokpal at the Centre under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 and the states' Lokayukta laws is a frequent governance question on accountability and institutional independence.

Trap: Aspirants pick Odisha because of its 1970 Act, confusing the Odisha Lokpal with the Lokayukta office.