BANGALORE: The Raj Bhavan has finally returned the file related to the appointment of former Kerala High Court Judge Justice S R Bannurmath as the next Lokayukta. With this, Governor H R Bhardwaj has pushed the ball back into the government’s court.It is to be seen whether the government would make a fresh choice or decide to resend the file with Bannurmath as its nominee. The government, however, maintained that they have not received any communique. “We have not received anything so far,” was all Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda said. The Express had on December 27, 2011, reported that the Governor was set to return the file based on objections raised by members of the selection panel and a note by the then High Court Chief Justice J S Kehar, who had officially recorded his dissent while giving consent by stating there should have been a panel of names instead of just Bannurmath’s. In addition, the Governor had also made up his mind to officially reject the candidature of Bannurmath on the grounds that the Apex Court had passed strictures against the latter in the Classic Computers Case.An official Raj Bhavan press communique on Monday, however, did not give any specific reasons for rejecting the candidature of Bannurmath.The one-line communique said: “His Excellency the Governor of Karnataka, having considered the proposal received from the Government through the Chief Secretary, regarding appointment of Shri Justice S R Bannurmath as Karnataka Lokayukta and having taken into consideration the contents of subsequent correspondence between his Excellency the Governor and the Honourable Chief Minister, has formally rejected the advice tendered by the Honourable Chief Minister in this regard.”When contacted, Bannurmath refused to speak. He is scheduled to address the media on Tuesday.
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