Within month of his order allowing Hindus to pray at Gyanvapi, retired judge made university Lokpal

Lucknow: Retired judge Ajaya Krishna Vishvesha has been appointed the Lokpal of a state university in Uttar Pradesh less than a month after delivering a judgment allowing Hindus to pray in a cellar in the disputed Gyanvapi mosque premises.

The appointment brings back memories of how retired judge Surendra Kumar Yadav was made UP deputy Lokayukta within seven months of delivering a judgment that acquitted BJP leaders LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti, Kalyan Singh, among others, in the Babri mosque demolition case. Vishvesha, like Yadav, delivered the controversial judgment on his last working day.

Vishvesha was Monday appointed ombudsman of Lucknow’s Dr Shakuntala Misra National Rehabilitation University for a three-year period. He took charge Wednesday, university officials confirmed to ThePrint. The university aims to cater to people with physical disabilities.

Vishvesha’s appointment comes after the office of UP Governor Anandiben Patel sent directions to 17 state universities to appoint ombudspersons within three days in adherence to the University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines.

In January, Vishvesha, on his last day as the Varanasi district and sessions judge, ordered arrangements for Hindu prayers in the mosque cellar. The order came after the Archaeological Survey of India surveyed the mosque premises on his order and filed a report in December last year stating that a Hindu temple existed at the site. The mosque management committee appealed against the order at the Allahabad High Court, saying it was illegal and inappropriate. However, the HC last Monday upheld Vishvesha’s order.

In 2020, Surendra Kumar Yadav, while delivering his controversial judgment, had cited a lack of evidence to prove that the accused BJP leaders incited a mob to demolish the Babri mosque in 1992.

“The appointment (of Vishvesha) follows the UGC guidelines, which direct every university to constitute an SGRC with four professors, a student representative, and a special invitee. According to the guidelines, the Lokpal could be a retired university vice chancellor or a retired professor or retired judge with at least ten years of experience and not above 70 years of age,” Dr Shakuntala Misra National Rehabilitation University Vice-Chancellor Himanshu Shekhar Jha told ThePrint.

Appointment coincides with Khanwilkar’s 

Vishvesha’s appointment as the university Lokpal coincided with former Supreme Court judge A.M. Khanwilkar’s appointment as the Lokpal chairperson.

Justice Khanwilkar superannuated as the top court judge on 29 July 2022. Before that, he was part of significant verdicts, which, critics say, were mostly in line with the Modi government’s stance.

Khanwilkar was part of constitutional benches that upheld the validity of Aadhaar and allowed the entry of women into the Sabarimala temple in Kerala in landmark judgments in 2018.

In 2019, Khanwilkar’s bench interpreted the bail provision in the anti-terror law, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, in a way that it made getting bail even tougher.

In his final two years in the apex court, he paved the way for the Central Vista redevelopment project in a January 2021 judgment.

He also headed the bench that upheld amendments to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Bill in April 2022, reinforcing a stricter screening mechanism for NGOs to receive and utilise foreign funds.

In June 2022, he headed a three-judge bench that rejected claims of a “larger conspiracy” in the 2002 Gujarat riots. The bench dismissed petitioner Zakia Jafri’s plea challenging the SIT clean chit to then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi. The verdict said those who “kept the pot boiling…for ulterior design” should be put “in the dock”, prompting the Gujarat police to lodge an FIR against co-petitioners Teesta Setalvad, retired IPS officer R.B. Sreekumar, and former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt.

In July 2022, he upheld the ED’s sweeping powers to arrest and attach properties and search and seize under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), paving the way for a more draconian law.

No honorarium, but payment for each meeting

As the university Lokpal, Vishvesha will decide on appeals against the students’ grievance redressal committee (SGRC). He will not be entitled to any monthly or yearly honorarium, but he will receive a payment each time he holds meetings to decide on students’ appeals. The university would also reimburse his travel expenses for such meetings.

“The Lokpal will preside over the meetings of the six-member committee when required, depending on the number of appeals from students. We had considered three names and approved the name of one among them — retired judge Ajaya Vishvesha,” said Dr Shakuntala Misra National Rehabilitation University V-C Jha, quoted earlier.

Asked how much the university can pay the Lokpal for each visit, Jha said the university’s working committee would decide that, but it would not be more than Rs 5,000 per meeting.

“The guidelines mandate at least four such visits per month, but there could be more visits depending on the number of complaints,” he said, adding that the post was merely an “honorary” one and “had few takers”.

“Given that the post doesn’t account for much monetary benefits, people did not show enthusiasm for it,” he said.

How the appointment came about

In line with the UGC (redressal of grievances of students) regulations, 2023, all universities appoint a Lokpal.

In a 23 February letter, the governor’s office called out 17 state universities for not sharing information about constituting the grievance committee and appointing the Lokpal. The office had asked for the information in December last year.

The letter, accessed by ThePrint, also directed the universities to constitute the committee and appoint the Lokpal within three days of receiving the letter. If the universities did not, they would have to share why with the governor’s office.

“We received and complied with directions from the Raj Bhawan to appoint a Lokpal. The governor’s office issued the directions after the UGC issued a strict warning that it might blacklist universities that fail to make such an appointment. Vishvesha’s appointment was done on 26 February,” said Dr Shakuntala Misra National Rehabilitation University media in-charge Yashwant Virodai.

The university was established in 2008 by the Divyangjan Sashaktikaran (disabled empowerment) department through an ordinance passed by the then Mayawati-led government. It is the “first-of-its-kind in India”, according to its website, as it “not only offers accessible and world-class higher education to all but also addresses the educational needs of the physically challenged in a seamless and sensitive academic environment”.

Currently, 5,500 students, including 1,097 students with disabilities, are enrolled in the university.

‘Justice bought’?

The Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee, which manages the Gyanvapi mosque premises and is the main litigant in the case, has reacted sharply to Vishvesha’s appointment as the Lokpal of a state university. The committee drew parallels with Surendra Kumar Yadav.

SM Yasin, secretary of the committee, said such appointments are not new. “This is nothing new. Everything seems to be available for sale in this country. Judges are bought. Justice is bought,” he said.

About the post not entailing much monetary benefits, he said, “When you have given a post to such a person, that is enough. It is a message — whoever is in power can purchase anything. Today, the government has that power.”

Yasin recounted that many programmes were held across Varanasi to “honour” Vishvesha after his Gyanvapi verdict.

“The eight days he stayed in Varanasi after his retirement, he was honoured in several programmes. He gave interviews to several news channels, too. The worst is that he was also honoured in Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth in the presence of the vice chancellor,” he said.

The other side, however, welcomed the appointment. “This (Vishvesha’s appointment as university Lokpal) is a purely administrative decision. He is a competent person. I argued before him, and he gave a prudent order (in the Gyanvapi case),” said Anupam Dwivedi, one of the lawyers who argued against the mosque management committee.

(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)