Gujarat High Court upholds the Lokayukta appointment

Dismissing the state government plea, a judge of Gujarat HC upheld the appointment of R A Mehta as Lokayukta by the Governor, earlier today. The case was assigned to a third judge after an earlier division bench had delivered a split verdict on the Lokayukta appointment issue. While Justice Akil Kureshi had held that the appointment of Justice (retd) R A Mehta by Governor Dr Kamala was constitutional, his fellow judge, Justice Sonia Gokani had differed. The state government had challenged the appointment of Justice (retd) R A Mehta as Lokayukta following his appointment in August, last year. The post of Lokayukta in Gujarat had been vacant since November 2003. [caption id=“attachment_186184” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Dismissing the state government plea, a judge of Gujarat HC upheld the appointment of R A Mehta as Lokayukta by the Governor, earlier today. AFP”] [/caption] Arguing against the BJP’s earlier memo to the President which called for a recall of the Governor, the Congress had earlier cited the Lokayukta Act of 1986, which states  that the Governor can appoint a Lokayukta in consultation with the Chief Justice of High Court and the Leader of the opposition. BJP had cited Article 163 of the Constitution that states that the Chief Minister could consult the Chief Justice and the Leader of Opposition and make a recommendation to the Governor.