Retired Judge Surendra Kumar Yadav has been named the third “up-lokayukta” in Uttar Pradesh.
Lucknow:
Retired Judge Surendra Kumar Yadav, who delivered the verdict in the high-profile Babri Mosque demolition case last year, was sworn in as a Lokayukta MP or the up-lokayukta in Uttar Pradesh today.
As a judge of the IWC Special Court, Mr. Yadav acquitted on September 30, 2020 all 32 defendants, including BJP veterans LK Advani, MM Joshi, Uma Bharti and Kalyan Singh, in the demolition of Babri Mosque in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992.
“Yadav was named third ‘up-lokayukta“By the governor on April 6. On Monday, Yadav was sworn in by Lokayukta Sanjay Mishra in the presence of other senior officers,” said an official statement.
The anti-corruption watchdog includes the Lokayukta and three “up-lokayuktas“.
The two others up-lokayuktas are Shambu Singh Yadav, who was appointed on August 4, 2016, and Dinesh Kumar Singh, who was appointed on June 6, 2020.
The term of an “up-lokayukta” is eight years.
The Lokayukta comes from a non-political background and functions as a statutory authority investigating cases mainly related to corruption, government mismanagement or abuse of power by officials or ministers.