Bangalore, Feb 14: Justice (retd) Y Bhaskar Rao was today sworn in as the Karnataka Lokayukta, a post which had been lying vacant since September 2011.
The 75 year-old Rao, who served as the former Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court, was administered the oath of office by Governor H R Bhardwaj in a ceremonial function at the Raj Bhavan.
Rao succeeds Justice (retd) Shivaraj V Patil who resigned from the post of Lokayukta in September 2011 following an allegation about illegal possession of a government site.
The post of Lokayukta had been lying vacant since then. Rao had also served as a member of the National Human Rights Commission.
The retired judge refused to comment on a reporter's query about allegations of irregularities levelled against him recently by Advocates Association of Bangalore (AAB).
To a question whether he would expedite cases and had a roadmap before him, Rao said "you'll see in course of time".
On whether he would make his assets public, he shot back "everything will be public. We will put it up on the website". Speaking to the press on the sidelines of the function, Bhardwaj said "I am happy, the initiative has been taken. He was the CJ here. He knows the language".
To another question, the Governor said "nowadays people don't even leave God. I haven't received any allegation. There were other reasons why I rejected him earlier. Let's see how he performs. I want every institution to perform well here".
Earlier post
Justice Bhaskar Rao is new Lokayukta
Bangalore, Feb 14: The State government on Wednesday cleared the decks for the appointment of Justice Yarabati Bhaskar Rao as the new Lokayukta of Karnataka.
The post had been lying vacant since September 2011, after the then new incumbent, Justice Shivaraj Patil, resigned following allegations of false declaration while obtaining a housing site. The 74-year-old former chief justice will be sworn into office at the Raj Bhavan by Governor H R Bharadwaj on Thursday morning.
Bhaskar Rao's choice was cleared by a panel comprising Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, acting Chief Justice of the High Court K Sreedhar Rao, Legislative Council Chairman D H Shankarmurthy, Legislative Assembly Speaker K?G Bopaiah and Leaders of the Opposition in the two Houses Siddaramaiah and S R Patil. According to government sources, Justice Rao's name won majority approval.
Justice Rao was acting Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court for three months in 1999 and later served as Chief Justice from March 9, 2000 to June 26, 2000. After retirement, he was appointed Chairman of Andhra Pradesh Human Rights Commission and later became a member of the National Human Rights Commission. He was a judge of Andhra Pradesh High Court.
He hails from Karimnagar district of Andhra Pradesh.
The Advocates?Association of Bangalore (AAB), which opposed Rao's choice, has decided to move the Supreme Court, Association Secretary A?P Ranganath said.
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