Justice Santosh Hegde, who was part of the drafting committee of the Jan Lokpal Bill, says that his biggest complaint with regard to the new government draft of the Bill was that no independent probing agency had been provided for the Lokpal.
The defamation suit was filed by Indian Police Service officer, Hemanth Nimbalkar, reports Vicky Nanjappa.
Fresh differences appeared in Team Anna with Justice Santosh Hegde on Tuesday distancing himself from corruption allegations against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other ministers even as the group sought to play down Anna Hazare's reservations on the issue.
Justice Santosh Hegde, a member of Team Anna, is not in favour of activist Anna Hazare and his supporters joining politics. He explains why he so stringently opposes the idea to rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa
"I am happy that justice has prevailed. I hope the government will be alive to having an institution like Lokayukta", he told reporters, recalling the trapping of Sampangi by Loakyukta sleuths when he was the Lokayukta.
Team Anna member and former Karnataka Lokayukta Justice (retd) N Santosh Hegde on Tuesday appealed to Anna Hazare to end his eight-day fast, saying everyone is "honestly" concerned about his health.
The Lokpal drafting panel which was constituted with great difficulty will continue to function the way it is with Justice N Santhosh Hegde deciding to stay on in the panel. Hegde spoke with Vicky Nanjappa following his decision to stay on in the panel.
Rubbishing the Congress' accusation that Team Anna was involved with foreign elements, one of its members and former Supreme Court Judge N Santosh Hegde on Tuesday said blaming a foreign hand was a 'famous statement' of the 1970s. "This was a famous statement of the 1970s. Every time a fault was pointed out, (an allegation was made saying) it is the international phenomenon or a foreign hand is involved," said Justice Hegde.
With the hotting up of the telecom and broadcasting sector due to entry of more and more players, legal disputes in the field are bound to increase, Justice Santosh Hegde, who took over as chairperson of TDSAT, said on Monday.
Justice Santhosh Hegde, former Lokayukta of Karnataka and Team Anna member, has been booked by the police for falsifying charges against an IPS officer.
Karnataka Governor H R Bharadwaj caught everyone by surprise on Wednesday when he said that he would immediately sign the papers if the government proposed the name of Justice Santosh Hegde for the post of Lokayukta.
Justice Santosh Hegde, who has been leading the movement on the Jan Lokpal Bill in Bangalore, says that a wrong notion has been created that the members of the civil society are in no mood to even discuss issues with the government.
The Lokpal Bill, which seeks to curb corruption, has run into rough weather after the government objected strongly to certain clauses in the much-anticipated bill.The prime bone of contention during Monday's meeting between representatives of the civil society and the Centre was the proposed inclusion of both the prime minister and the judiciary within the purview of the Lokpal bill.
Fresh controversy has erupted with regard to the Lokpal Bill with some members of the Bill drafting committee deciding not to take part in the next meeting.
Putting an end to speculations on Saturday, Justice Hegde told rediff.com, "It is one of the most ridiculous rumours I have ever heard. On the one hand, I have been accused of being the one responsible for B S Yeddyurappa stepping down as chief minister because of my mining report. Now Yeddyurappa has rejoined the BJP and immediately the news floats that I too would be joining the same party. Does this not sound funny to you?
Former Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde on Monday said he was not willing to be Goa Lokayukta, even if that office was offered to him.
Justice Santosh Hegde on Monday disapproved the move to bring breach of privilege motion against Kiran Bedi and actor Om Puri for their controversial remarks about parliamentarians at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi saying such a motion should be used in exceptional cases.
Home Minister P Chidambaram on Friday requested Justice N Santosh Hegde, who resigned from the post of Lokayukta of Karnataka on June 23 over the manner in which the government had treated some of his reports, to reconsider his decision.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Digvijay Singh backtracked on his own remarks about retired Supreme Court judge Justice Santosh Hegde, who is currently on the Lokpal Bill draft committee.
Team Anna member Justice Santosh Hegde on Friday said it will be a "misconduct" if activist Kiran Bedi had not taken the permission of organisers of events for transferring the difference in money on air tickets to her non-governnment organisation.
Karnataka Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde's sudden resignation has come as a shock to the state and an embarrassment to the Bharatiya Janata Party government, which is incidentally gearing up for grand celebrations on Friday marking two years in office.
Justice Santosh Hegde on Wednesday said it is "extremely difficult" to believe that allegations raised by Team Anna against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh could exist but demanded an inquiry if there are documents to suggest that some wrongdoing was done.
Justice Santosh Hegde on Saturday indicated that he may not resign from the joint drafting committee on Lokpal Bill after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's statement that the government was looking forward to enacting a strong anti-corruption legislation.
Reflecting a rift within Team Anna Hazare, Justice Santosh Hegde has disapproved of the anti-Congress campaign by activist Arvind Kejriwal during the Hisar bypolls, saying it was not the right thing to do and "we jumped the gun".
The meeting of the Joint Drafting Committee of the Lokpal Bill, scheduled to be held later on Tuesday, is expected to be a decisive one. But the representatives of civil society don't have any high hopes from this meeting.
After remaining closed for more than two months, the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal is set to resume functioning with new chairman from next week.
The biggest problem today is that all political parties have become united, which is disastrous to the cause, says Justice Santosh Hegde.
Speaking to PTI in Bengaluru, the former Supreme Court judge said every political party has "good and honest people" and targeting an outfit as a whole is not correct. He said he is opposed to such an idea (campaigning against a party).
Hours before Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde demitted office, outgoing Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Tuesday filed a petition before him seeking reconsideration of his report indicting him in the illegal mining that cost him the top post.
Former Karnataka Lokayukta Justice (retd) Santosh Hegde on Sunday opposed granting financial assistance to people affected by closure of mining in Goa and expressed doubts over the state government's willingness to implement recommendations of Justice M B Shah Commission.
Karnataka Governor H R Bhardwaj has rejected the resignation of the state's Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde. Sources in the Raj Bhavan, while refusing to reveal details about the governor's decision, confirmed that Justice Hegde's resignation had been rejected.The Lokayukta had tendered his resignation on Wednesday citing the failure of the government to protect the interest of the institution.Hegde slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party government for reneging on its promise.
Justice Santosh Hegde has become a very popular face at the protests against corruption at Freedom Park in Bengaluru.
Justice Santosh Hegde has become a very popular face at the protests against corruption at Freedom Park in Bengaluru.
"If Sonia Gandhi admits in public that she does not like a vilification campaign then I would like to ask her why she hesitates to pull up her own colleagues who engage in such campaigns," said Justice Santosh Hegde, a member of the drafting committee of the Lokpal bill. Hedge threatened to quit on Thursday following statements from Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh, who had said that he (Hegde) had failed to control corruption in Karnataka.
Asserting that the Lokpal cannot completely wipe out corruption which is as old as the civilisation itself, Team Anna member Justice N Santosh Hegde on Monday said that if the menace could be contained up to 60-70 per cent, "we would be very strong".
Karnataka Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde on Friday dismissed as 'totally wrong' reports that he has named External Affairs Minister S M Krishna in his report on illegal mining in the state.
A last ditch attempt by the Bharatiya Janata Party to refrain Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde from resigning has failed. State BJP unit chief K S Eshwarappa, Home Minister Dr V S Acharya and Law Minister Suresh Kumar met Justice Hegde and asked him to reconsider his decision, but the Lokayukta averred that he will not change his mind.
Justice Shivraj Patil will take over as the Lokayukta in Karnataka once Justice Santosh Hegde retires in August.Justice Patil, who belongs to the Lingayat community of Karnataka, was recently in the news when he was the appointed to probe the lapses in the sale of 2G spectrum by the telecom ministry. Justice Patil will take over as the top anti-corruption official of Karnataka at a crucial time, when the state government is trying to play down the report on illegal mining.
Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde has decided to withdraw his resignation."If Governor H R Bhardwaj gives me an appointment, I will meet him on Sunday to withdraw my resignation," Hegde told reporters on Saturday.The top anti-corruption official had resigned to protest the Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government's inaction about several of his reports, specially the one about the illegal mining lobby operating in Karnataka.
Problems for Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa continued with the Congress lodging a complaint against him and his sons in connection with a land scam on Friday.
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