Chief justice wants non-working day for meet

A decision on the appointment of a new lokayukta may have to wait for a few days more, as chief justice of Allahabad high court DY Chandrachud expressed his inability to attend the three-member selection committee meeting here on Thursday.

“Chief justice infor med, through a letter, that Thursday was a court day (working day) and so he will not be able to attend the meeting. A meeting will now be convened on some other day (non-working day) that may be convenient to the chief justice,” said chief secretary Alok Ranjan.

Expecting a decision, media persons had gathered outside chief minister Akhilesh Yadav’s residence, where the meeting was convened. Besides the chief minister, leader of opposition Swami Prasad Maurya and the chief justice are members of the committee.

Later, Maurya said the meeting would now be held on a non-working day and the new date would be decided in consultation with the chief justice. He said a panel of judges, who have retired from the high court after 2011, has been formed and selection of the new lokayukta would be made from this panel.

Sources said the panel has 40 to 50 names of retired judges.

The state government had convened the meeting of the selection committee to select a new name for lokayukta to send to Governor Ram Naik. It may be mentioned that the government had earlier recommended the name of Justice (retired) Ravindra Singh for appointment as lokayukta. However, the governor refused to accept his name in view of reservations expressed against him by the chief justice. While rejecting Singh’s name the governor had asked the government to send a new name after holding a meeting of the three-member committee.

Instead of sending a new name, the gover nment had decided to move the Uttar Pradesh Lokayukta and Up-Lokayukta Bill-2015 to deprive the chief justice of any role in the selection of lokayukta. As the governor has put the bill on hold for examination, the government decided to take a U-turn and convened the meeting of the committee under the provisions of the UP Lokayukta and Up-Lokayukta Act-1975.

A PANEL OF JUDGES, WHO HAVE RETIRED FROM HC AFTER 2011, HAS BEEN FORMED AND SELECTION OF NEW LOKAYUKTA WOULD BE MADE FROM THIS PANEL.