Lucknow: The Allahabad High Court today reserved its order on a petition filed against the appointment of controversial Samajwadi Party leader Gayatri Prajapati as a minister in the Uttar Pradesh government.
Justices Dilip Babasaheb Bhosale and Rajan Roy reserved their order after hearing the closing arguments of the petitioner – social activist Nutan Thakur – and Uttar Pradesh advocate general Vijay Bahadur Singh who opposed the petition.
In her petition, Ms Thakur had claimed that the minister was removed from his office after the High Court had ordered a CBI inquiry into charges of corruption against him. As such, he should not be have been made a minister again, till he was cleared of all charges.
The attorney general however argued that Mr Prajapati’s appointment was made according to existing rules and could not be challenged in a court.
Mr Prajapati was asked to step down on September 12 by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, in a step criticised by the opposition as a publicity stunt, after charges of corruption surfaced against him. The move was also opposed by voices within the Samajwadi Party.
Less than two weeks later, party chief Mulayam Singh once again announced Mr Prajapati as the transport minister in the government.
Earlier as the minister of mining in the state, Mr Prajapati faced several serious charges of corruption and misconduct.
PTI