LUCKNOW: In a decision which may raise many eyebrows, retired judge Surendra Kumar Yadav, who had given the verdict in the Babri mosque case, was appointed as ‘up-lokayukta’ of Uttar Pradesh on Monday.
He took the oath of office after overnor Anandiben Patel had given her accent to his appointment by signing the notification on April 6.
The Lokayukta is an apolitical entity and functions as a statutory authority probing cases primarily related to corruption, government mismanagement, or abuse of power by public servants or ministers.
As a judge of special CBI court, Yadav had on September 30 last year acquitted all 32 accused, including BJP veterans LK Advani, MM Joshi, Uma Bharti and Kalyan Singh, Vinay Katiyar in the high-profile case.
Yadav will be the deputy Lokayukta of the watchdog on corruption for a tem of six years.
“Yadav was appointed as the third up-lokayukta by the Governor on April 6. On Monday, Yadav was administered the oath by Lokayukta Sanjay Mishra,” an official statement said.
Yadav, who was to retire in 2019, was given an extension of one year to wind up the hearing in the around three-decade long case and deliver the order.
The apex court had said the extension would only be for the purpose of concluding the trial and delivering verdict.