Triggering a political row, the Narendra Modi government at the Centre has appointed former Supreme Court judge Abdul Nazeer, who was one of the judges who ruled in favour of the construction of Ram Temple in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya, as the Andhra Pradesh Governor, media reports said.

Nazeer was a part of the five-judge bench of Supreme Court that had unanimously directed the construction of Ram Temple in the then disputed 2.77-acre land in Ayodhya while giving a separate five-acre land for the mosque.

Earlier, former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, who headed the Ayodhya bench, was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 2020.

Nazeer, who retired on Jan 4, 2023, was elevated to the Supreme Court from the Karnataka High Court in Feb 2017.

Outgoing Andhra Pradesh Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan has now been transferred to Chhattisgarh as the state's Governor.

Besides the Ayodhya verdict, Nazeer was a part of various crucial judgements including the ones declaring triple talaq as "unconstitutional" and 'right to privacy' a fundamental right.

Taking a dig at the Centre over the appointment, Congress MP and general secretary Jairam Ramesh tweeted, "Adequate proof of this in the past 3-4 years for sure."

Slamming the Modi government, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra tweeted, "Yet another SC judge appointed governor less than 2 months after retirement. Majoritarian govt doesn’t care about perception but how shameless are you, MiLord to accept it?"

The BJP has dismissed the allegations levelled by the Opposition.

BJP Rajya Sabha member Anil Baluni said as quoted by The Indian Express, "Former judges have been appointed to different positions countless times in the past. Our Constitution also says nothing against post-retirement appointment of judges."