Notice issued on PIL against Lokayukta chief’s appointment
MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court issued a notice on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the appointment of the chairman and one of the two judicial members of Lokayukta in Tamil Nadu.
The litigant, R Rajendaran, an advocate from Karur, submitted that retired judge of the Madras High Court P Devadass and retired district judge K Jeyabalan were appointed the chairman and the judicial member of Lokayukta respectively.
Retired district judge R Krishnamoorthy was appointed the second judicial member, while retired IAS officer M Rajaram and senior advocate K Arumugam were appointed the non-judicial members. However, the process through which Devadass and Jeyabalan were selected had many flaws, he claimed.
It was the case of the litigant that though the Selection Committee for Lokayukta had recommended two persons – former chief justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court N Paul Vasanthakumar and justice Devadass – for the post of Chairman of Lokayukta, the Governor of Tamil Nadu had chosen justice Devadass ignoring the candidature of justice Vasanthakumar even though the latter had more experience.
The litigant alleged that this was because Devadass was related to a ruling-party member.
Rajendaran also challenged the appointment of judge Jeyabalan citing reasons that he does not have the required 25 years of experience in the State judiciary. The litigant therefore prayed the Court to quash the two appointments.
Hearing the plea, a Bench, comprising justices P N Prakash and B Pugalendhi, issued a notice to the Governor of Tamil Nadu, the Secretary of Personnel and Administrative Reforms department, and the above two members, and adjourned the case.
Rajendaran had also filed a similar petition challenging the appointment of the two non-judicial members – Rajaram and Arumugam –and their appointments had been stayed by the court.