The swearing-in of former high court judge Virendra Singh as Uttar Pradesh Lokayukta was today deferred after his controversial appointment was challenged in Supreme Court before which the state government gave an undertaking to keep it in abeyance till the matter is decided.
In an extraordinary hearing on a holiday, a bench comprising justices A K Goel and U U Lalit raised some pointed question as to how the name of Justice Virendra Singh was placed before its bench when the Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court had specifically made some objections.
When the bench said that there has been no statement by the government denying the stated position of the chief justice who had written a letter to the Governor and reported in the media, UP's additional advocate general Gaurav Bhatia gave an undertaking on behalf of the government that there will be no oath taking ceremony tomorrow.
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The court was hearing a petition filed by UP resident Sachidanad Gupta alleging that the state government has played a "fraud upon the apex court" by hiding the fact that the Allahabad High Court Chief Justice had expressed his reservations to the name of Justice Virendra Singh.
(Reopens LGD17)
The plea seeks direction for quashing of the December 18 order of the government appointing Justice Singh as Lokayukta.
The fresh plea says "the State Government has violated the essential condition of rule of law by neither apprising this court of the correct facts and also not approaching this court to apprise it of the true facts even after the Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court had expressed that the name of Justice (Retd.) Virendra Singh/Respondent No.3 had been dropped by the Chief Minister himself.
"The so-called 'communication gap' between the Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court and the Chief Minister about which there is no mention before this court during the hearing on 16.12.2015 is destructive of the fundamental conditions upon which the Constitution of India rests - i.E. Rule of law, truth and constitutional morality.
"The tenure of UP Lokayukta is at least 8 years and once the High Court Chief Justice has apprised Principal Secretary to the Governor and the state's Chief Secretary that the name of Justice Singh was 'not even in fray and was not in consideration', it was obligatory on authorities to approach this court and apprise this court regarding the same; rather than to advise the Governor of UP to issue a formal order of appointment of Justice Singh as Lokayukta," it said.
Earlier, the apex court had examined a list of nominees and ordered the appointment of Justice Singh as Lokayukta.
"The failure of constitutional functionaries to comply with the orders of the highest court of the land is deeply regretted and astonishing...We, therefore, proceed to exercise our right under Article 142 of the Constitution to remedy the situation by passing an appropriate order," it had said.
Prior to that the apex court had on Decemebr 14 rapped the UP government for not appointing Lokayukta in the state despite its directions and asked it to make the appointment by December 16.
