Ishrat order reserved till 1 Dec, Lokayukta case hearing tomorrow

Ahmedabad, 23 November, 2011

Gujarat High Court today reserved its order on Ishrat Jahan encounter case till December 1st. Hearing on this case completed today, and decision, on which agency will probe Ishrat case, will arrive on 1st December.

In another development, newly appointed third judge Justice Sahai will hear Lokayukta appointment case on Thursday. A single judge Bench of Gujarat High Court on Wednesday decided to refer back the ruling of the division Bench which had delivered a split verdict last month on the legality of the Governor’s unilateral appointment of the State Lokayukta.

Justice VM Sahai, to whom the split verdict was referred to by the Chief Justice for a second opinion, ruled that the division Bench would be asked to spell out the points on which the two judges have differed regarding the controversial appointment of the Lokayukta.

A division Bench of the High Court comprising Justice Akil Kureshi and Justice Sonia Gokani had last month delivered the split verdict on the Governor’s controversial decision to appoint Justice (Retd) RA Mehta as the Lokayukta without consulting the Chief Minister.

State Advocate General Kamal Trivedi argued that the single judge Bench can proceed with the hearings as the division Bench judges have differed on legal points.

Mukul Sinha, advocate of the Jan Sangharsh Manch, demanded that the division Bench should be asked to specify their differences in writing following which the single judge Bench would proceed with the matter.