LUCKNOW: Retired judge Surendra Kumar Yadav, who gave the verdict in the high-profile Babri mosque demolition case, took oath as an 'up-lokayukta in Uttar Pradesh on Monday.
He took the oath of office after state Governor Anandiben Patel had given her accent to his appointment by signing the notification on April 6.
"Yadav was appointed as third 'up-lokayukta' by the Governor on April 6. On Monday, Yadav was administered oath by Lokayukta Sanjay Mishra in the presence of other senior officers," an official statement said here.
The anti-corruption watchdog comprises the Lokayukta and three 'up-lokayuktas'.
As a judge of special CBI court, Yadav gave the verdict in the Babri mosque demolition case on Sep 30, 2020, acquitting all the accused including BJP veterans LK Advani, MM Joshi, Uma Bharti and Kalyan Singh.
Yadav, who had to retire in 2019, was given an extension of one year by the Supreme Court in July same year to wind up the hearing in the around three-decade long case and deliver the order. The apex court had said that the extension would only be for the purpose of concluding the trial and delivering a verdict in
the case. The Supreme Court then fixed September 30, 2020, as the deadline for the trial court to pronounce its judgement.
The other two up-lokayuktas are Shambu Singh Yadav, who was appointed on August 4, 2016, and
Dinesh Kumar Singh, who was appointed on June 6, 2020.
The Lokayukta is from a non-political background and functions as a statutory authority probing into cases primarily related to corruption, government mismanagement, or abuse of power by public servants or ministers.
(With ENS inputs)