Appoint second Upalokayukta soon, High Court tells govt

The High Court has directed the state government to take steps to fill the post of second Upalokayukta at the earliest. A division bench headed by Justice Satish Chandra Sharma disposed of a PIL after the state government submitted that the post of second Upalokayukta had fallen vacant in December 2020.

The petition was filed by city-based advocate S Umapathi in 2019. During the pendency of the petition, the state government appointed Justice B S Patil, retired High Court Judge, as the Upalokayukta.

During the hearing, the state government informed the court that the other post of Upalokayukta fell vacant only in December 2020, following the retirement of Justice N Ananda. The government submitted that some reasonable time is required as there is a process of consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court, Speaker of Legislative Assembly and the Chairman of Legislative Council.

"The prayer appears to be a genuine prayer. Resultantly, the writ petition stands disposed of with a direction to the respondents to appoint and fill the second post of Upalokayukta as expeditiously as possible at an earlier date," the court said.