Gujarat HC judge, who rejected Modi’s man for Lokayukta, elevated to SC

By TCN Special Correspondent,

Ahmedabad: Gujarat High Court chief justice S J Mukhopadhyay, who turned down the request of Chief Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of the appointment of Lokayukta, has been elevated to the Supreme Court of India. High Court sources confirmed that he has been promoted and will be joining the new assignment on September 13.

However, the Modi government has made principal secretary of Justice Mukhopadhyay and high court registrar, besides justice (retd) RA Mehta as respondents in a petition challenging the appointment of Lokayukta. Modi government says that the appointment is in violation of the constitutional law of India.

Justice Mukhopadhyay had first recommended the name of Justice (retd) S D Dave for the post of Lokayukta. But Modi allegedly had reservations to his appointment and instead, suggested the name of Justice (retd) J R Vora.

But Justice Mukhopadhyay refused to consider his name and instead, recommended the name of Justice(retd) R A Mehta. Justice(Retd) Mehta is considered among one of the most upright judges of the Gujarat high court.

But Modi again sent a missive to Justice Mukhopadhyay, expressing reservation about Justice(retd) Mehta’s name. But Justice Mukhopadhyay took a firm stand. In a strong worded reply, he said that there was no justification for Modi to have reservations about Justice(retd) Mehta’s appointment as Lokayukta.

Justice Mukhopadhyaya said that he had personally examined the case of Justice(retd) Mehta and there was nothing against him that made him ineligible for Lokayukta’s post. It was on Justice Mukhopadhyaya’s recommendation that the state governor Kamla Beniwal issued a notification appointing Justice(retd) Mehta as Lokayukta.

But Modi and BJP made it a political issue and demanded recall of the governor. Modi government not only moved the court seeking annulment of the appointment but also obstructed the functioning of the parliament, demanding withdrawal of Lokayukta’s appointment order and recall of the governor.