This is not the first time that the appointment of Gujarat Lokayukta has been challenged in the High Court. Only,the aggrieved parties have been different.
While this time it is the state government which has challenged R A Mehtas appointment,it was the opposition Congress that had gone to court against the selection of S M Soni as Lokayukta.
Former BJP CM Keshubhai Patel had suggested Sonis name to the then Chief Justice as well as to the NDA-appointed governor,Sundarsinh Bhandari. Patel allegedly did not consult the Leader of the Opposition formally. The CJ and the Governor agreed on Soni and he took over as Lokayukta on November 25,1998.
Crying foul,late CM Amarsinh Chaudhary,who was then Opposition leader,challenged the appointment in the HC in January 1999. He was backed by former CM Shankarsinh Vaghela and former minister Sanat Metha,complaints against whom had been taken up by Soni.
The case dragged on till Sonis term ended in 2003.