Ahmedabad: Retired Gujarat High Court Judge DP Buch will be today sworn as the state's Lokayukta, a post lyving vacant for a decade.
Justice Buch will he sworn in as the anti-corruption ombudsman by Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal at a function in Raj Bhavan, official sources said here yesterday.
The post has been lying vacant since the last incumbent Justice R M Soni's term expired in December 2003. The Narendra Modi government, which had been at loggerheads with the Governor since 2011 over the appointment of Lokayukta, on November 27 recommended Justice Buch's name for the post.
The appointment came at a time when Modi had been facing flak from Congress over the post lying vacant for 10 years.
The Opposition party has maintained that the BJP's prime ministerial candidate had been repeatedly raising the issue of corruption under the Congress-led UPA government, but failed to appoint Lokayukta in his own state.
The issue had triggered a major controversy when the Governor appointed Justice (retd) R A Mehta as Lokayukta on August 25, 2011 without consulting the state government. This led to a long-drawn legal battle which reached the Supreme Court, which subsequently upheld the Governor's decision.
Another twist came when Justice Mehta declined to take charge of the office in August this year, citing the long legal battle over his appointment and “the Government not accepting his objectivity and credibility”.
