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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | UP lokayukta term extension under SC lens-Dhananjay Mahapatra

UP lokayukta term extension under SC lens-Dhananjay Mahapatra

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published Published on Jul 6, 2012   modified Modified on Jul 6, 2012
-The Times of India

The Supreme Court on Thursday entertained a petition challenging the Akhilesh Yadav government's first Cabinet decision to do what was statutorily impermissible — re-induct Justice N K Mehrotra as UP lokayukta after he had completed a six-year non-renewable term as the head of the watchdog. 

Petitioner advocate Mohd Saeed Siddiqui alleged that the decision to re-employ Justice Mehrotra was in contravention of Section 5 of the UP Lokayukta Act, 1975, which stipulates a person after completing his term of six years would not be entitled for reappointment as lokayukta or in any other capacity under the Uttar Pradesh government. 

A bench of Justices Altamas Kabir and J Chelameswar issued notice to the UP government and sought an explanation in four weeks. It told petitioner's counsel Suruchii Aggarwal that it was not inclined to stay the ordinance extending the lokayukta's term to eight years. 

Justice Mehrotra was appointed Lokayukta on March 16, 2006 and his six-year term as per the 1975 Act came to an end on March 15, 2012, the day CM Akhilesh Yadav held the first Cabinet meeting of the SP government. 

In the meeting, it was decided to issue an ordinance amending the Lokayukta Act but the governor did not approve it. Three days later, another ordinance seeking retrospective implementation of the amendment to the Act was sent to the governor, who gave assent to it. The amendment, which came into effect from March 22, extended the term of lokayukta to eight years. 

The petitioner said even if the amendment was taken to be legally sound, Justice Mehrotra on March 22 had retired as Lokayukta after completing his six-year tenure and incurred the disqualification for re-appointment. 

Hence, he could not have continued as lokayukta as the disqualification had not been removed by the amendment, he argued. 

Siddiqui said, "The office of the lokayukta is one of the highest offices in the state government conferred with the power of being the watchdog on the highest executive and political authority of the state." 

"Once the occupier of such an office ceases to hold the same and incurs a disqualification to re-enter the office, he cannot be given a back door entry by retrospective amendment of the Act and continuity to occupy the office after a factual gap of seven days," he said. 

He added, "The umbilical cord between the holder of the office and the office having been broken on March 16, the same cannot and should not have been reunited by the amending ordinance." 

The Times of India, 6 July, 2012, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/UP-lokayukta-term-extension-under-SC-lens/articleshow/14697767.cms


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