PIL in HC challenging UP govt's awards

The Allahabad High Court today sought a response from Uttar Pradesh government on a PIL filed by suspsended IPS officer Amitabh Thakur's challenging the Yash Bharati awards including the one given to the state Chief Secretary's wife.
A division bench of Justice Amreshwar Pratap Sahi and Justice Attau Rahman Masoodi asked the state government to inform it under which financial head the award was being given and the expenses paid.
It asked for the criteria made and the process adopted for selection. It also asked whether the awards are in conformity with the constitutional provisions about abolition of titles.
Amitabh, in his petition, alleged that the way 22 names were initially chosen "surreptitiously" and 12 more names were added twice at the last moment, making it a list of 46 and it was given to Chief Secretary Alok Ranjan's wife Surabhi Ranja, clearly shows that the awards are being given arbitrarily.

He sought cancellation of the awards and giving these awards through a fair and transparent procedure.
On behalf of the state government, the petition was opposed.
Besides memento, the state government gives Rs 11 lakh and Rs 50,000 per month to the awardees.