The top court was hearing a plea filed by the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Umang Singhar of the Congress challenging the appointment of Justice (retired) Satyendra Kumar Singh as Lokayukta on the ground that he was not consulted.Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Singhar, called it “utter mockery” of the process as there was no consultation involved.Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the state government, said the chief justice of the high court was consulted and the entire file was sent to the leader of the opposition.Referring to the Madhya Pradesh Lokayukt Evam Up-Lokayukt Adhiniyam, 1981, Singhar said the appointment of the Lokayukta is facilitated with the consent of the leader of the opposition and the chief justice of the high court.”Therefore, according to section 3 of the Act, proper consultation was required to be done between the state government, the Chief Justice of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh and the Leader of the Opposition of the Legislative Assembly of the State before making the appointment.”It is submitted that while appointing the Respondent No.2 to the post of Lokayukta, the Respondent No.1 (MP govt) has not consulted the petitioner and therefore, the appointment of the Respondent no.2 (Singh) is illegal and void and not done according to the statutory process prescribed,” the plea, filed through advocate Sumeer Sodhi, said.Singhar claimed that apart from non-consultation, the appointment suffers another infirmity as only one name was forwarded and approved contrary to the wide meaning attributed to the word “consultation’ in respect of judicial/quasi-judicial appointments.The entire process of appointment reeks of “arbitrariness, foul play and ex- facie illegalities” and is liable to be set aside, he said in the petition.”The aforementioned actions of respondents reduce the faith of the general public and masses in the process of transparent appointment for various constitutional positions including that of the Lokayukta, who has to play a integral role in investigation of serious offences,” the plea said.
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