AHMEDABAD: The state government has accused the governor of not following constitutional provisions in justice R A Mehta's appointment as Lokayukta by seeking advice of the attorney general.
Advocate general Kamal Trivedi on Wednesday contended that governor Dr Kamla's decision to seek the attorney general's advice challenged the chief justice's (CJ) decision. He said this during a hearing of the state government's plea in the high court against justice Mehta's appointment on Wednesday.
Chief minister Narendra Modi's office had requested the then CJ S J Mukhopadhaya to give names of three judges so that consensus could be reached on one of the names. The CJ sent four names with Modi insisting on appointing Justice J R Vora as Lokayukta. Trivedi said when the governor was expected to appoint justice Vora, she chose to consult the attorney general and decided to begin the process afresh by asking CJ to suggest only one name.
He also said that the governor did not take the elected government's opinion on the issue. According to him, the governor cannot act without advice and aid of the council of ministers, but in this case "it was a departure from the convention". Seeking advice from the Centre's counsel was "not in right earnest", the advocate general argued adding it was "fallacious understanding of the Constitution" by the governor.
"The governor could have called on the CM and the matter would have been solved, but she should not have departed from the procedure," Trivedi said. The bench of justice Akil Kureshi and justice Sonia Gokani posed certain queries to Trivedi. At one point, the justices stopped him from accusing the governor of pursuing a political agenda.
The bench of justice Akil Kureshi and justice Sonia Gokani posed certain queries to Trivedi.
At one point, the justices stopped him from accusing the governor of pursuing a political agenda.
The advocate general also read out letters dashed off by Modi giving reasons for not wanting justice Mehta as Lokayukta, like his conclusion that the Surat floods in 2006 were a man-made disaster. He also objected to justice Mehta participating in programmes organized by NGOs to assess the 2002 riots. Besides, Modi had reservations on the ground that a civil rights organization Jan Sangharsh Manch had suggested justice Mehta's name to be appointed in the Godhra commission after the demise of justice K G Shah.
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