The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court on Wednesday issued notice to attorney-general on a writ petition challenging the resolution issued by the Centre to constitute a committee on the Lokpal Bill. The order was passed by a bench comprising Chief Justice F.I. Rebello and Justice Devendra Kumar Arora on the petition filed by lawyer Ashok Pandey.
The petitioner submitted that under existing constitutional provisions the Centre cannot issue resolution or notification to constitute a committee on the bill. The bench while directing the AG to file a reply in three weeks has fixed May 16 as the next date of hearing. The government on April 8 agreed to issue a formal order to set up a joint committee for drafting an effective Lokpal Bill. —PTI