Ahmedabad/ New Delhi: The Gujarat High Court on Monday delivered a split verdict on upholding the appointment of the state Lokayukta by Governor Kamla Beniwal.
The two-judge bench hearing the case filed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of Narendra Modi against the Governor's order appointing Justice RA Mehta as the Lokayukta of the state was a split one. While Justice Akil Qureshi upheld the appointment of the Lokayukta by the Governor, Justice Sonia Gokani disagreed with Justice Qureshi.
The matter will now be referred to a larger bench headed the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court.
While upholding Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal's appointment order, Justice Qureshi observed that any advice by council of ministers in the case would have been unconstitutional.
Governor Kamla Beniwal had appointed Justice RA Mehta as the Lokayukta without consulting the Chief Minister Narendra Modi, which led to accusations and counter-accusations among the BJP and the Congress.
The BJP had moved the High Court against the Governor's decision and challenged Justice Mehta's appointment as the state Lokayukta.
A BJP delegation, led by veteran leader Lal Krishna Advani, had also met President Pratibha Patil demanding recall of the Gujarat Governor. Modi had also written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding that the Governor be recalled.
Gujarat has been without a Lokayukta for nearly eight years now.
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