HC adjourns hearing on Gujarat lokayukta appointment
05 Sep 2011
The Gujarat high court today further adjourned the hearing in a petition filed by the state government against the appointment of a lokayukta, or anti-corruption ombudsman, by governor Kamala Beniwal without consulting the state government.
The court will take up the matter next on 7 September.
On 25 August, governor Beniwal appointed retired judge R A Mehta as the state lokayukta, which the Narendra Modi-led BJP government strongly opposed in public as well as in the court.
Beniwal on her part said the state repeatedly ignored her invitations for discussion on the appointment; and in these circumstances the Constitution allows her to appoint a lokayukta in consultation with the chief justice of the high court.
State governors are appointed at the union level, and states have little or no say in the matter.
The government petition argued that constitutionally the governor cannot take a decision on the appointment of a lokayukta on her own; nor can she work independently of the elected government on such issues.
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