Ahmedabad:
The Gujarat High Court is expected to pronounce its order on a plea by the Narendra Modi government challenging the appointment of Mr RA Mehta as the state's Lokayukta by Governor Kamla Beniwal.
Modi government says the Governor bypassed the state government; it claimed during the arguments that the action was unconstitutional.
On August 25, the Governor had appointed Justice RA Mehta as the state's new Lokayukta. Since then, the Governor and the Modi government have been at loggerheads. She has returned as many as five bills in the last three years passed by the state Assembly.
Narendra Modi held a rally in the state last month to protest against the Governor's appointment.
The critical post had been lying vacant for seven years. The Governor reportedly consulted legal experts before choosing Mr Mehta. The BJP has challenged the appointment because Mr Modi and his government were not consulted. The party claims this violates Article 163 of the Constitution which states that the Governor of a state must act on the advice of the Council of Ministers.
The BJP feels this is a breach of federal principles and that the Governor is acting upon the instructions of the Union government.
Mr Modi had suggested that the Lokayukta be selected by a committee that included three ministers, the Leader of the Opposition Congress party, and the state's Chief Justice. The Governor had rejected that proposal.
In 2003, the last Gujarat Lokayukta SM Soni retired. It took the Modi government three years to approve a replacement suggestion. But three years later, the then Gujarat Governor rejected the suggestion on technical grounds.
Since then the Opposition Congress says it has submitted four suggestions but the BJP government says Opposition's lack of cooperation held up the appointment.