Former Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court Justice Bashir Ahmad Khan was today sworn in as the new chairman of the State Accountability Commission (SAC)-- the state's three-member anti-graft body.
Khan was administered the oath of office by Governor N N Vohra at Raj Bhavan.
Two other members of the Commission--former High Court judges, Justices Bashir Ahmad Kirmani and J P Singh--were also sworn in.
Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, his Cabinet colleagues and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah were among others who were present at the function.
The revival of the SAC was part of PDP-BJP coalition government's "agenda of alliance".
The Commission remained non-functional since August 20 last year after its Chairperson Justice (retd) Y P Nargotra and one of the two members Justice (retired) Imtiyaz Hussain completed their terms in office.
The SAC is mandated to inquire into complaints of corruption against chief minister or any minister, any member of state legislature, chairman or vice-chairman or a member of a local authority, vice-chancellor or registrar of University established or deemed to have been established by law made by the state legislature.
The names of Khan and the other two Commission members were cleared by the Governor on September 23 after a high-powered selection panel headed by the Chief Minister recommended them for the key positions.
The selection panel comprised Speaker of Legislative Assembly Ravindra Gupta, Chief Justice of J-K High Court N Paul Vasanthakumar, leader of largest opposition party in the state and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Syed Basharat Bukhari.
Khan, who hails from Baramulla, first became the Judge of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court in November 1990.
He was transferred as the Judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in October 1997 from where he was shifted to the Delhi High Court in January 2000. Khan is also the president of SAARC-Law (India).
