Lokayukta: Get cracking, HC tells Karnataka

The Karnataka High Court on Monday told the State Government to begin before July 25 the process of appointing a Lokayukta.

Hearing a petition by H S Neelakantappa, a resident of Tarikere taluk, a division bench headed by Chief Justice Vikramajit Sen set the government a two-day deadline to make the appointment for the post that is lying vacant for nearly a year.

Advocate General Vijayshankar, making a submission, said that the government would appoint the Lokayukta after the Supreme Court gave its verdict on a special leave petition challenging the High court order quashing the appointment of Justice Chandrashekaraiah as Upa Lokayukta.

The Advocate General narrated the chronology of events after the term of Lokayukta Santosh Hegde ended, including the resignation of his successor Justice Shivraj Patil, and later Justice Bannurmath declining the offer.

The AG also recalled that the High Court quashed the appointment of Justice
Chandrashekaraiah as Upa Lokayukta, and the direction of the bench headed by Justice Kumar that the Chief Justice’s opinion is a must while appointing the Lokayukta and Upa Lokayukta. The directions have been challenged through a special leave petition in the apex court, he added.

The division bench refused to buy the arguments on the ground that the case in the
apex court related to Upa Lokayukta’s appointment only. The Advocate General replied that the government too was concerned about the Lokayukta post lying vacant, but would proceed only after its SLP is heard.

The bench was unmoved. It said, “This is no hindrance to the appointment of Lokayukta. It is irrelevant. You have not even identified an eligible Lokayukta. There is no response from the government.”

When Vijayshankar sought more time and said that before the High Court directions the State Government relied on Section 13(2)(b) of the Lokayukta Act, the division bench said: “The problems and all these developments are because there was no consultation with the Chief Justice on the previous occasion while making an appointment.”