Speaking to mediapersons at the Tumkur University convocation on Friday, the Governor said the government had not sought the opinion of the chief justice of the High Court before suggesting the name of Bannurmath for the post.
“Choosing the Lokayukta does not involve just the government and the governor. Opnions of the judges at the High Court and the Opposition parties have to be sought. The government has failed to follow the right selection procedure,” he said. Bhardwaj added that he had written to the State government about this.
He pointed out that during the appointment of C V Thomas as the Central Vigilance Commissioner, the Supreme Court had ruled that an inclusive process involving all the relevant bodies needs to be initiated before choosing the head of a statutory body. “The same would apply to the selection of a Lokayukta,” he said.
He criticised the government for the transfer of Lokayukta ADGP Jeevan Kumar Gaonkar.
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