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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Fresh hearing starts in Gujarat Lokayukta case by Manas Dasgupta

Fresh hearing starts in Gujarat Lokayukta case by Manas Dasgupta

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published Published on Nov 23, 2011   modified Modified on Nov 23, 2011

The Gujarat government's petition challenging the unilateral appointment of Justice R.A. Mehta as the State Lokayukta by Governor Kamala Beniwal has been referred to a third judge for a decision after a split verdict on the issue by the High Court last month.

Justice V.M. Sahai on Wednesday began hearing the petition afresh and his judgment on the issue would carry the day since the last two judges gave contradictory views on the appointment — one holding the appointment as valid and the other allowing the government's petition.

A division bench comprising justices Akil Kureshi and Sonia Gokani had delivered the split verdict, differing on the question of “process of consultation” among the State government, the Governor and the Chief Justice of the High Court.

Justice Kureshi held that the appointment was valid since the process of consultation had concluded with the then Chief Justice of the High Court, S.J. Mukhopadhyaya, overruling the objections raised by the State government against Justice Mehta's name for the post. He also said that the post of Lokayukta had remained vacant for over seven years for one reason or the other and it would have been improper to continue to keep the post vacant indefinitely and the Governor was within her rights to use her special powers to fill the vacancy.

Disagreeing with the view, Justice Gokani maintained that the process of consultation was “still very active” when the Governor unilaterally appointed the Lokayukta ignoring the objections of the State government. She held the view that the State government had written a second letter to the Chief Justice requesting him to reconsider the earlier recommendation in favour of Justice Mehta and it could not be construed to be the “end of the process of consultation.”

After the split verdict, the matter was referred back to the Chief Justice for a decision on sending the matter to a larger bench or to a third judge to hear the petition. The Chief Justice referred the issue to the court of Justice Sahai.

Justice Sahai on Wednesday had to confront objections raised by the Jan Sangharsh Manch advocate, Mukul Sinha, who said the issue could not be taken up by a third judge till the two judges on the division bench gave in writing the differences in their respective opinions. Justice Sahai has reserved his order on the objection till Thursday.

The Manch had filed a petition of contempt of court against Chief Minister Narendra Modi for publicly criticising through an “open letter” the Governor's unilateral appointment of the Lokayukta even when the matter was under the consideration of the High Court.


The Hindu, 24 November, 2011, http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article2654693.ece


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