UP Lokayukta appointed

Invoking its constitutional powers, the Supreme Court on Wednesday appointed a former high court judge Justice Virendra Singh as Uttar Pradesh’s Lokayukta after the state government failed to comply with its directives. The Apex Court while making the appointment that came as an embarrassment to the SP government also expressed its disapproval over the “failure” of constitutional functionaries to comply with the orders of the highest court of the land. The UP government failed to meet the Supreme Court deadline to appoint Lokayukta even after two rounds of marathon talks, which failed to come up with a consensus name.