Bengaluru: Worried over the reported rejection of former high court judge, Justice P Vishwanath Shetty's name for the post of Lokayukta by Governor Vajubhai Vala, the state government is waiting for a consultation with the state advocate general to decide on the future course of action.
"We are waiting for the AG’s opinion regarding the next step to be taken by the government. No decision has been taken whether to stick to Justice Shetty's candidature or look for another candidate", sources close to the CM told Deccan Chronicle.
Last week, the collegium comprising the CM, Speaker, Council chairman, two opposition leaders and the high court chief justice discussed a few names including those of Justice N.K. Patil and Justice Shetty. Since both the ruling Congress and opposition BJP favoured Justice Shetty, it was believed that the unanimous choice would be approved by the governor.
In the meantime, Mr S.R. Hiremath, a Dharwad-based social activist, raised objections to Justice Shetty's choice for Lokayukta and submitted a memorandum listing out the charges against him. Raj Bhavan which reportedly took note of Mr Hiremath's allegations, not only returned the file to the government but also sought details in this regard. Besides, Mr Vala wanted a copy of the proceedings of the meeting held to select the Lokayukta.
This came as a shocker for CM Siddaramaiah who had been making attempts to fill the Lokayukta post, which was lying vacant for over 400 days. The CM's three attempts to get former State Human Rights Commission Chairman Justice S.R. Nayak's name cleared for the post was also rejected by Mr Vala.
