Justice Subhash B. Adi was yesterday sworn-in as the second Upa Lokayukta of Karnataka at a hastily organised ceremony at Raj Bhavan by Governor H.R. Bhardwaj in the absence of Lokayukta Justice Bhaskar Rao, who missed out as he was reportedly touring in Andhra Pradesh to deliver a series of lectures.

Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, Deputy Chief Minister R. Ashok, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister S. Suresh Kumar, Acting Chief Justice K. Sridhar Rao and other judges of the High Court were present at the swearing-in ceremony.

The appointment process reportedly began on Wednesday after the State Government forwarded the file to Raj Bhavan for approval and sources said that the Governor had refused to clear Justice Adi’s name stating that appointment of a sitting judge to the post of Upa Lokayukta required the approval of the President of India and the file was returned to the Government on Thursday.

In a sudden development, the process resumed as Justice Adi, who was to retire in August 2013, resigned as the High Court Judge.

Lokayukta officials said that they were informed about Adi’s appointment on Friday night and the swearing-in ceremony on Saturday morning.

Interestingly, both the second Upa Lokayukta and the Chief Minister refused to take questions from the media.

Courtesy : Star Of Mysore