Bengaluru: The stay order by High Court over appointing IAS officer P C Jaffer as Registrar of the Karnataka Lokayukta has come as a setback for the ruling Congress government. The state government’s notification of appointing Jaffer was stayed by the court on Tuesday.
Till now, only district judges have held the position, in keeping with a recommendation by the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court. Hearing a PIL filed by advocate R Ananda Murthy, a division bench of acting Chief Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee and Justice B V Nagarathna issued notices to the Chief Secretary, the Registrar General of the High Court, the Under Secretary to the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms and the Lokayukta Registrar.
Observing that judicial officers of the rank of district and sessions judge are appointed as Lokayukta registrar and additional registrar, the bench said they cannot work under an IAS officer.
The bench said that by virtue of a notification dated January 22, 2014, judicial officers were overlooked while appointing the registrar in the office of the Lokayukta and that there had been no consultation with the High Court.
“Therefore, we find that there is a strong prima facie case in favour of the writ petitioner. If operation of the order appointing Jaffer is allowed, the situation will become irreversible. We thus grant stay of operation of the order during the pendency of the writ petition,” the bench said.
During the arguments, Additional AG A S Ponnanna relied on the notification of the Ministry of Personnel and Public Grievances, Pensions and Training, reserving the Lokayukta Registrar post for IAS officers. The notification was based on the Karnataka Lokayukta (Cadre, Recruitment and Conditions of Service of the Officers and Employees) Rules, 1988.
The rules say a registrar can be of the rank of district and sessions judge or an IAS officer or an additional registrar of the rank of district and sessions judge on deputation to the Lokayukta.
M Aruna Shyam, counsel for the petitioner, filed an IA and challenged the Karnataka Lokayukta rules that provide for the appointment of IAS officers as Lokayukta Registrar. He argued that the inclusion of an IAS officer in a quasi-judicial body like the Lokayukta was against the object of the Act and also contrary to the scheme laid down under Article 50 of the Constitution of India.
The government had issued the notification appointing Jaffer though the HC had recommended that district principal and sessions judge Gunaki Narendra Kumar Basavaraj be deputed to the post.
The government did not withdraw the notification despite Chief Secretary Kaushik Mukherjee assuring Chief Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee that the issue would be settled amicably as they did not want a confrontation with the Judiciary.
