Justice Shivraj Patil, who took over as the Lokayukta of Karnataka two months ago, may tender his resignation on Monday. Insiders said that he is on his way to Raj Bhavan.
Karnataka Lokayukta N Santosh Hegde on Friday expressed unhappiness over Bharatiya Janata Party President Nitin Gadkari's accusation that he was 'acting like an opposition leader', saying he failed to understand why he said so.
Barely one-and-half months after assuming office, Karnataka Lokayukta Shivaraj Patil has landed in a row for securing allotment of two residential plots from two housing cooperative societies violating rules.
P Vishwanatha Shetty is stated to be out of danger.
Karnataka Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde on Saturday issued a notice to Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on a complaint against him about denotification of lands. Earlier on Saturday, the Lokayukta expressed regret over his decision to withdraw his resignation over the government's inaction about the massive corruption in the state. While addressing the media at Bengaluru on Saturday, Justice Hegde said that he cannot now undo what has been done and he cannot resign again.
Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh N Hegde, who is probing illegal mining in the state, on Thursday claimed that his phone has been tapped. Hegde, a former Supreme Court judge, told PTI that after reports of alleged bugging in the office of Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee surfaced, he had asked a professional to carry out a check in his office. "(The professional) told me that my telephone has been tapped. Every conversation was being recorded," he said.
Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde, the ombudsman battling corruption in Karnataka is impressed with the manner in which Anna Hazare has taken on the government this time. Here are a few excerpts from a freewheeling chat with Vicky Nanjappa:
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah dismisses speculation of a power struggle within the Congress party and addresses concerns regarding the Hate Speech Bill.
Congress president M Mallikarjun Kharge, meanwhile, came to Siddaramaiah's defence, stating that the party is standing with him and will support him.
Governor H R Bhardwaj has cleared the name of Patil, who had earlier served as Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court as well as Acting Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Raj Bhavan sources said.
Karnataka Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda on Sunday said the state would get a new Lokayukta in the next 15 days.
Madal Virupakshappa, who was in hiding for the past six days, appeared in public in his hometown Channeshpur after hearing the news that the high court had granted interim bail.
The post of Karnataka Lokayukta had been lying vacant since September 2011, after Shivaraj V Patil resigned from the post in the wake of a media expose that showed irregularities in the allotment of two residential plots to him and his wife.
Amid the controversy over the issue of appointment of Lokayukta by the Governor in Gujarat, Karnataka Governor H R Bhardwaj on Wednesday said he cannot name the new anti-corruption ombudsman in the state without the government's approval.
The Lokayukta police probing the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment case on Wednesday said that the charges against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his wife Parvathi could not be proved for want of evidence.
The Lokayukta police have summoned Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for questioning in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment case on November 6, official sources said on Monday.
In a huge embarrassment to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka, Lokayukta sleuths on Monday conducted searches at the residences of Deputy Chief Minister and state unit chief K S Eshwarappa in Bengaluru and in Shimoga in connection with a FIR filed against him in a disproportionate assets case.
The Karnataka CM is facing allegations of illegalities in the allotment of 14 sites to his wife Parvathi B M by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA).
The Karnataka high court on Monday stayed the notice issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi B M and the state Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh to appear for questioning in connection with the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land allotment scam.
Siddaramaiah, his wife, brother-in-law B M Mallikarjun Swamy, Devaraju -- from whom Swamy had purchased a land and gifted it to Parvathi -- and others have been named in the FIR registered by the Lokayukta police establishment, located in Mysuru on September 27, following the order of the Special Court that exclusively deals with criminal cases related to former and elected MPs/MLAs.
The Karnataka High Court was on Friday informed that the state government has begun the process of appointing the Lokayuktya, a post which is lying vacant since September last year.
The BJP in Karnataka has claimed that the Lokayukta probe has cleared the party's previous government from 40 per cent commission charges, calling the allegations by the Congress "false". The BJP leaders claim that the allegations were part of the Congress' "tool kit" and were used during the 2023 Assembly polls to corner the then BJP government. However, the Congress government has stated that they have not yet seen the report and that acquittals happen due to a lack of evidence. The BJP has also alleged that the current Congress government is a "60 per cent commission government" and has cited several scams during their time in power.
Indian Overseas Congress chief Sam Pitroda has denied owning any land, home, or stocks in India, responding to allegations by a BJP leader that he illegally acquired 12.35 acres of government land in Bengaluru. The BJP leader, N R Ramesh, has filed a complaint with the Enforcement Directorate and the Karnataka Lokayukta, alleging that Pitroda, with the help of government officials, acquired the land for his organization, FRLHT. Pitroda, in a statement on X, categorically denied the allegations, stating he has never taken any salary during his time working with the Indian government and has never paid or accepted any bribe. He further clarified that FRLHT received a five-year lease on the land for conservation purposes, which expired in 2001 and was extended for another 10 years. Ramesh claims the lease expired in 2011 and the land, now worth over Rs 150 crore, was not reclaimed by the forest department. He has urged the ED to file a criminal case against those involved in the alleged land grab, including the officials responsible.
Evidence of several irregularities have been detected in the transfer of 14 sites by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) to B M Parvathi, the wife of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, according to the Enforcement Directorate.
The MUDA office in Mysuru and some other locations are being raided by the federal probe agency officials along with an escort of a central paramilitary force, the sources said.
"We are inclined to stay the proceedings. Accordingly the proceedings on the FIR on the issue ordered by the Karnataka Lokayukta will remain stayed," a bench comprising justices Altamas Kabir and Gyan Sudha Misra said.
In line with the August 8 order of the Lokayukta court directing investigation into the charges against Yeddyurappa in a private complaint, an FIR has been registered under section 158 (3) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Incharge Lokayukta Superintendent of Police, Rangaswamy Naik told PTI.
The Karnataka government will have to restart its lookout for a new Lokayukta after the Governor formally rejected the name of Justice S R Bannurmath on Monday.
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.
The Karnataka Lokayukta Police on Monday registered an FIR against former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa and his family members in connection with the anti-corruption watchdog's report into illegal mining. Besides Yeddyurappa, his sons B Y Raghavendra, B Y Vijendra and son-in-law R N Sohan Kumar and others have been named in the FIR under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Lokayukta sources said.
Lokayukta sources said much of the findings are already in the public domain as the report was leaked.
Former Supreme Court Judge, Shivaraj V Patil on Wednesday took over as Karnataka Lokayukta and said that corruption would not be tolerated at any level in the state.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday said it was too early to react to the Karnataka Lokayukta's report on illegal mining, which has indicted Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, and asked the Congress to first take action against those named in the Shunglu Committee and Delhi Lokayukta reports.
The Karnataka Lokayukta police on Tuesday carried out searches at the four offices of Sohan Kumar, son-in-law of former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, in connection with the land denotification issue.
Karnataka state Bharatiya Janata Party president B Y Vijayendra and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar's brother D K Suresh called on state minister Satish Jarkiholi separately on Monday, triggering political speculation.
Corruption in the office of the Karnataka Lokayukta is a huge matter of debate today. Questions have been raised about the office on how it continued to book cases of corruption, especially when its own officers were corrupt.
While the Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde gives final touches to the illegal mining report, the people of Bellary say they are not bothered, and Chief Minister Yeddyurappa is on a mission to save his chair yet again. Vicky Nanjappa revisits Lokayukta's first report that came out in April 2010, and dealt with the pathetic living conditions in Bellary.
'His willingness to take the initiative to fight for truth and justice and his willingness to cross swords with anyone for a just cause.'
As the standoff between Karnataka Governor H R Bhardwaj and the state government continues over the appointment of a new Lokayukta, Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda on Tuesday said the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party would have no choice but to prepare a new list of candidates if the Governor rejected their original recommendation.
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.
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