SC appoints Justice Sanjay Mishra as UP Lokayukta

New Delhi/Lucknow, Jan 28: The Supreme Court on Thursday appointed Justice Sanjay Mishra, a former judge of the Allahabad High Court, as the Lokayukta of Uttar Pradesh. A bench of Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Prafulla C. Pant appointed Mishra as the Lokayukta and recalled the December 16, 2015, order appointing Justice Virendra Singh to the post. Justice Mishra enjoys a clean track record and image and has no political affiliations known to the public, informed sources told IANS. The appointment of Justice Virendra Singh as the Lokayukta ran into rough weather, as soon after apex court’s December 16 order, Allahabad High Court’s Chief Justice D.Y.Chandrachud wrote to Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram ik that he had reservations on him and had opposed his appointment on the grounds of integrity. Recalling its December 16 order and appointing Justice Mishra as Lokayukta, the court referred to an earlier judgment wherein it had accorded “primacy” to the opinion of the chief justice i the consultative process for appointment of Lokayukta.

Referring to the sequence of events leading to the appointment of Virendra Singh as the Lokayukta on December 16, the court regretted that constitutiol authorities — the chief minister, leader of opposition, and the chief justice of the Allahabad High Court — despite prolonged meetings could not decide on a simple issue of the appointment of the Lokayukta. (IANS)