Allahabad High Court today sought a reply from the Uttar Pradesh government on a petition filed by Centre for Civil Liberties against the Yash Bharti Awards allegedly being given in an arbitrary manner.
A division bench here of justices Devendra Kumar Arora and Rajan Roy gave this direction on the petition claiming that the state government was giving Rs 11 lakh and a huge monthly salary to the Yash Bharti awardees but the awards were being given in the most "random and arbitrary" manner on complete whims and fancies.
On the other hand, the state government counsel sought time to seek instructions from the government to present the reply.
The court has provided time for the same and listed the matter for January 23, the petitioner's counsel Nutan Thakur said.
The petition has prayed to constitute an enquiry committee under a retired high court judge to evaluate the awards given between 2012-16 and take back award money from those given award by allegedly flouting the norms.
UP government confers Yash Bharti Award on personalities for their remarkable contribution in various field including literature, social work, medicine, film, science, journalism and culture, etc.
Bollywood actors Amitabh Bachchan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Hindi poets Gopal Das 'Neeraj' and Uday Prakash, among several others, are Yash Bharti recipients.
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