The high court on Tuesday stayed the appointment of IAS officer PC Jaffer as registrar of the Karnataka Lokayukta. A division bench headed by acting Chief Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee passed the order on a PIL filed by advocate R Ananda Murthy. The bench also ordered notice to the chief secretary, registrar in charge of the Lokayukta, PC Jaffer and others.
At present, additional registrars in the Lokayukta belong to the cadre of district and sessions judge of the Karnataka Judicial Service. They cannot work under an officer belonging to the IAS cadre. By virtue of the January 22, 2014, notification, we are of the prime facie opinion that judicial officers are barred from being appointed to the registrar’s post in the Lokayukta.
Court not consulted: The bench further noted that when the January 22 notification was issued reserving the registrar’s post in favour of an IAS officer, a member of the district and sessions judge cadre was holding the post. There was no consultation with the high court about the change in rule.
Additional advocate-general AS Ponnanna had relied upon the said notification, issued by the ministry of personnel and public grievances pensions, department of personnel and training, reserving the registrar’s post for the IAS cadre, and the same was issued by the Centre in consultation with the state government.
The petitioner had challenged the August 6, 2015, notification issued by the DPAR appointing Jaffer as the registrar. On Tuesday, M Aruna Shyam, counsel for the petitioner, filed an IA wherein the rules of Karnataka Lokayukta (cadre, recruitment and conditions of service of the officers and employees), 1988, which provide for appointment of IAS officers as registrar of the Lokayukta, have been challenged. According to the petitioner, the inclusion of an IAS officer as registar in a quasi-judicial body like the Lokayukta is against the Act and also contrary to the scheme spelt out under article 50 of the Constitution.
