Former special CBI court judge Surendra Kumar Yadav was appointed Uttar Pradesh’s deputy Lokayukta on Monday. Yadav, who hails from Jaunpur, was administered the oath by Lokayukta Justice (retired) Sanjay Mishra in the presence of a senior official, said a government official. Governor Anandiben Patel had signed the notification announcing the former judge’s appointment on April 6. Yadav passed the judgement in the Babri Masjid demolition case on September 30 last year, the day of his retirement. He acquitted all 32 surviving accused, including senior BJP leaders L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti, citing lack of evidence. A government official said the former judge started his legal career as an additional munsif from Faizabad, which was renamed Ayodhya, in June 1990. Over the years, he has worked as a munsif, an additional chief judicial magistrate (ACJM), a chief judicial magistrate, and an additional district judge in different districts. He retired as the Lucknow district judge on September 30, 2019, but continued on an extension to complete the proceedings in the Babri case.
