By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, March 3, 2019: Former Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court Justice Ajit Singh has been appointed as the chairperson of the Lokayukta in Odisha.

The Odisha governor Professor Ganeshi Lal cleared his name following the recommendation of the selection committee headed by chief minister Naveen Patnaik. The selection committee had unanimously recommended Singh’s name for the prestigious job on February 12. He was selected from among the five names shortlisted by a search panel led by Justice Amitava Roy.

Born on September 6, 1956, Singh started working as a lawyer in October 1979. He was appointed as an additional judge of the Madhya Pradesh high court on April 1, 2002, and became a permanent judge on March 21, 2003. He also served as a judge in the Rajasthan high court. He was appointed Chief Justice of Gauhati high court on March 5, 2016, from where he retired on September 5, 2018.

Earlier on February 11, chief secretary A P Padhi had told the Supreme Court that the state government would appoint the Lokayukta in the state by March 31 and the anti-corruption watchdog would start functioning from April 8.

Odisha claims to be one of the first states in the country to have passed the Lokayukta legislation. The assembly had passed the Lokayukta law in February 2014 and it got the presidential assent in January 2015. Official sources said other members of the Lokayukta would be appointed very soon.