Governor appointed Lokayukta in haste: Gujarat Govt to HC

Trivedi said the Governor's decision to consult the attorney general of India and then refer the list back to CJ, asking him to suggest only one name, departed from the established process. It was against the Constitution. He contended that in August, Chief Minister had conveyed his reservations against Mehta to the CJ, as well as the the Governor. CM had quoted various speeches made by Mehta at different forums in his letter, Trivedi said. When the consultation was on, the Governor should have waited, he said. Governor's office had no proper understanding of the provisions of the Constitution, he said. Such actions of personal discretion put the democracy in peril, he added. 



To this, Justice Kureshi said the High Court did not want to go into the political fall-out of the issue. He asked Trivedi to stick to the legal contentions. Trivedi further argued that barring six areas mentioned in the Constitution and five areas that had evolved in Supreme Court judgements, in all other matters, the Governor had to act as per the advice of the state government. Trivedi also listed important dates, suggesting that the a due process of consultation was followed by the government. He gave earlier instances, where the names were suggested by the CJ, and government recommended one of them to the Governor, who appointed the person as Lokayukta. The arguments would continue on October 3.