BeyondHeadlines News Desk
Ahmedabad (Gujarat): The state government has been served a notice by the Gujarat High Court today over a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking appointment of the Lokayukta.
A division bench of Justice Aquil Quraishi and Justice Sonia Gokani while issuing the notice asked the government to file its reply by August 29 when the next hearing is scheduled.
The high court asked the government to file an affidavit detailing the present status of the appointment of the ombudsman as per the Gujarat Lokayukta Act, 1986.
The government has not appointed anyone to the post in the last seven years.
The PIL was filed by Bhikhabhai Jethava, father of Right To Information (RTI) activist Amit Jethava who was shot dead in front of the Gujarat High Court in July last year.
Jethava demanded that non-appointment of the Lokayukta be held illegal and unconstitutional and sought the court’s directions to the state government for the appointment to take place within a stipulated period of time.
The petitioner also contended that the state has failed to appoint the Lokayukta even one year after it made a statement on the same.
In June last year, the Additional Advocate General had said in the High Court on a similar petition that the consultation process for the appointment of Lokayukta was already over.
