In a fresh twist to the appointment of the Uttar Pradesh Lokayukta, the Supreme Court has stayed the oath-taking ceremony of the new ombudsman, Justice (retd.) Virendra Singh, which was to take place on Sunday morning, officials said. The move comes after the apex court on Saturday heard a petition of Sacchidanand Gupta on the matter.
It fixed January 4 as the next date of hearing on the matter.
In Lucknow, Raj Bhawan officials said in wake of the new development, Governor Ram Naik has cancelled the swearing-in ceremony slated for Sunday.
This would also mean that incumbent, Justice N.K. Mehrotra, would continue to be the Lokayukta till January 4 now.
Last week, the apex court had itself appointed the new Lokayukta after the UP government failed to do so. Making its displeasure at the delay, the SC had sought five names from the state and had cleared the name of Justice Virendra Singh. [See: Supreme Court appoints Justice Virendra Singh as Uttar Pradesh Lokayukta.]
The new development came in the light of a letter written by Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court D.Y. Chandrachud expressing his opinion on the matter and denying that the name of Justice Virendra Singh had been approved in a selection panel of which he along with Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Leader of Opposition in assembly Swami Prasad Maurya were members.
