Y Bhaskar Rao, retired chief justice of the Karnataka High Court, has been appointed as the state’s Lokayukta. He will be administered the oath of office by Governor H R Bhardwaj on Thursday.
Rao (75) succeeds Justice Shivaraj Patil, who quit within a month after being appointed, following charges of flouting rules to get a residential plot from a housing society.
A notification appointing Rao was issued by the Raj Bhavan on Wednesday. The post of Lokayukta had remained vacant since September 19, 2011 when Patil resigned.
Rao’s appointment, however, has kicked up a row as a few pro-Kannada organisations along with the Advocates Association, Bangalore, have opposed the government’s decision to nominate a non-Kannadiga as the Lokayukta.
“We are going to file a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the government’s decision to appoint Rao as the Lokayukta,” said Advocates Association president K N Subba Reddy.
After obtaining a Bachelor of Laws degree from Osmania University, Rao enrolled as an advocate in 1964. He was appointed as a permanent judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court in July 1986. Rao was then transferred to the Karnataka HC and later elevated to the post of Chief Justice.