The judges of the top court said that without "shocking and compelling reasons", they will not rescind the appointment they made barely a month ago (File photo of Akhilesh Yadav)
"We will deal with Uttar Pradesh," the Supreme Court warned today, stating that it will later reveal whether it will cancel the selection of former judge Virendra Singh as the Lokayutka or ombudsman of the state.
The judges of the top court said, "If we agree that the Virendra Singh appointment is not appropriate, we will recall. Leave it to us."
Justice (retired) Singh was selected a month ago as Lokayutka by the Supreme Court. Judges today said they had "been misled by the Uttar Pradesh government" which had informed them that Justice (retired) Singh had been approved by a committee that included Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, the Leader of the Opposition in the state, and the senior-most judge in the state, the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court, DY Chandrachud.
However, the Chief Justice has complained in writing that Justice Singh lacks integrity. The Supreme Court was informed today that the Leader of the Opposition, Swami Prasad Maury of Mayawati's BSP, had also opposed Justice Singh's candidature.
After Uttar Pradesh missed multiple deadlines for more than a year to appoint a Lokayukta, leaving the state without an ombudsman to handle cases of corruption against government officers, the Supreme Court intervened in December and picked Justice Singh from a list of five nominees that were being considered by the selection committee headed by the Chief Minister.