In a setback to the Narendra Modi government, the Gujarat High Court, in a majority decision, on Wednesday upheld the appointment of retired HC judge RA Mehta as Lokayukta by the Governor while dismissing the plea of the state challenging it. The state government is likely to challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court after considering its legal options.
Justice V M Sahai, who was given the task of hearing the petition challenging the appointment of Lokayukta following the split verdict of a division bench, said, "I could not agree with Justice Sonia Gokani of the division bench on the points of difference, which were referred to me."
In his verdict, he said, "I concur with the views of my brother judge Akil Kureshi. Hence, the government petition is dismissed."
However, while the court upheld Mehta's appointment by Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal, the state government is now set to appeal against the verdict in the Supreme Court. "We accept the verdict of the high court. But our points remain and we will challenge this decision in the Supreme Court after consultations with legal experts. We had raised two points in our petition before the high court. The first point was that the consultation process between the chief minister and the chief justice was not over and the former had written a letter to the latter on the issue," said Gujarat government spokesperson and Health Minister Jaynarayan Vyas. In August 2011, Governor Beniwal had selected retired Justice Mehta as the state's Lokayukta. The state government had stated that Beniwal did not consult it during the said appointment. Further, the Modi government challenged the Governor's decision in the High Court in August 2011.
Following this, in October 2011, a two-judge bench of Gujarat High Court comprising of Justice Sonia Gokani and Justice Akil Kureshi had delivered a split verdict, and the case was referred to a third judge, Justice Sahai, who delivered his verdict on Wednesday, January 18, 2012.
With the decision of the third judge, the matter would now go to the chief justice, who will then refer it to the division bench, which had given the split verdict earlier. The division bench will then give a formal order, after incorporating Justice Sahai's views. The government can then appeal in the Supreme Court.
