Chief minister Narendra Modi had written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in connection with the appointment of the Lok Ayukta by the governor.
The Gujarat High Court bench comprising Justice Akil Kureshi and Justice Sonia Gokani, on Wednesday, sought an explanation from the state government about how the chief minister’s letter to the Prime Minister had leaked to the media.
Chief minister Narendra Modi had written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in connection with the appointment of the Lok Ayukta by the governor.
Modi had demanded recall of the governor as she had bypassed the chief minister in appointing the Lokayukta. Modi had also levelled allegations against the newly appointed Lok Ayukta, Justice (retired) RA Mehta, accusing him of bias against the
government.
The letter was published in the print media and also broadcast on news channels. Taking strong objection to the leak of the letter, two petitioners filed two different petitions seeking action against the chief minister for contempt of court.
Bhikha Jethava, father of slain RTI activist Amit Jethava, and the human rights organisation Jan Sangharsh Manch, sought action against the government for contempt of court.
They alleged that the government had deliberately made the letter public, despite the fact that its petition challenging the appointment of the Lok Ayukta was pending before the high court and was yet to be disposed of.
The government has to file a reply on the contempt petitions on September 21. While hearing of the petitions, Justice Qureshi pointed out that political leaders should not cross the line when a matter is still under judicial consideration.
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