The retired judge Surendra Kumar Yadav, known for the Babri Masjid demolition case verdict of 2020, took charge today in UP as deputy Lokayukta. Yadav, then judge of special CBI court handling the case of Babri Masjid demolition, had acquitted all accused in the case, including BJP leaders LK Advani, MM Joshi, Uma Bharti and Kalyan Singh, on September 30, 2020.
"Yadav was appointed as third UP-Lokayukta by the Governor on April 6. On Monday, Yadav was administered oath by Lokayukta Sanjay Mishra in the presence of other senior officers," an official statement said.
Lokayukta, together with three deputy Lokayukta, compose an anti-corruption watchdog. It functions as a statutory authority probing cases of corruption, government mismanagement and abuse of power by public servants or ministers. A deputy Lokayukta has a tenure of eight years.