Kamla Beniwal and Narendra Modi (File Photo)
In a setback to Narendra Modi, the Gujarat High Court has upheld the appointment of retired judge RA Mehta as the state's lokayukta. The state government will appeal against this verdict in the Supreme Court tomorrow.
Gujarat's Chief Minister Narendra Modi has been in a tussle with the Governor Kamla Beniwal since August last year, when Dr Beniwal had appointed Justice Mehta as the state's lokayukta. Mr Modi says the Governor acted unconstitutionally in selecting the ombudsman because the state government was not consulted. The Modi government challenged the Governor's decision in court. In October, two High Court judges delivered a split verdict, and the case was referred to a third judge, Justice Sahai, who delivered his verdict today, upholding the appointment.
Governor Beniwal selected Justice Mehta, a former High Court judge, as lokayukta using her discretionary powers to fill a post that had been vacant for more than seven years. Gujarat last had a Lokayukta in 2003, when SM Soni retired.
Mr Modi immediately moved the High Court against Justice Mehta's appointment and also wrote to the Prime Minister that the Governor to be recalled. His party's senior leaders like LK Advani also protested in Parliament over Justice Mehta's appointment. They said that the Centre was using the Governor to bypass the state government in an alleged breach of federal principles. The BJP referred to Article 163 of the Constitution which states that the Governor of a state must act on the advice of the Council of Ministers.
The High Court, however, today ruled that the appointment was valid and Constitutional. Existing rules say that the Governor appoints the Lokayukta in consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court. The state government has been arguing that instead, the Governor must consult a committee that includes three ministers, the Leader of the Opposition Congress party, and the state's Chief Justice. The Governor had rejected that proposal.
Keeping a long distance from the controversy is the man at the centre of it all, Justice Mehta, who would merely say after his appointment was upheld by the court that, "There should be a Lokayukta in every state."
But the Congress has much to say. In Lucknow, party General Secretary Digvijaya Singh said, "We are happy that after 11 years, Lokayukta has come to Gujarat. There are many more shocks on the way for Narendra Modi." He also took the opportunity to slam anti-corruption campaigner Anna Hazare and said, "Anna Hazare never agitated in Gujarat for Lokayukta. In fact, he praised Narendra Modi."
Gujarat government spokesperson Jaynarayan Vyas, however, said," No legal judgment is a victory or a setback...it is just a judgment". He said that the government had never been opposed the appointment of a Lokayukta, but had gone to court since the issue touched Constitutional provisions like federalism. He said the state government would challenge the High Court order in the Supreme Court.
The BJP has accused the UPA government of attacking the federal structure of India. "It raises issues of concern with relation to the federal polity. The Governor is a nominee of the central government. It means giving preference to the central nominee over the elected state government in the matter of appointing the Lokayukta," said senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley.