With the lengthy battle over his appointment finally settled by the apex court, the ball is now in Justice Mehta's court. He has been non-committal over his appointment as the state legal ombudsman. All eyes are now on his return from abroad on August 5. Sheela Bhatt reports.
The Karnataka government has suspended 40 officials and staff and issued show-cause notices to 257 who have been named by Lokayukta reports in illegal mining in Karnataka, Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar said.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav received a jolt on Tuesday when Governor Ram Naik finally rejected his recommendation for the appointment of the state's Lokayukta.
The Gujarat high court gave a split verdict on the appointment of a Lokayukta by the governor with one judge upholding it and another differing from that view.
Former judge of the Rajasthan high court Justice Sajjan Singh Kothari was on Monday sworn in as Lokayukta.
Justice (retd) Chandrashekaraiah's appointment as Karnataka Upa (deputy) Lokayukta was on Friday set aside by the Supreme Court which held that the chief minister had committed an 'error' by not consulting the chief justice of the state high court in the selection process.
Uttar Pradesh Lokayukta indicted 199 government officials, including two ministers, in the Rs 1,410 cr memorial scam. However, the omission of then chief minister Mayawati from the list has raised eyebrows. Sharat Pradhan reports
"This is nothing but mockery of the whole judicial process," Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal said in stinging remarks against the Narendra Modi government as she returned the new Lokayukta Bill for reconsideration by the legislative assembly.
The Congress on Thursday demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the mining scam exposed by the Lokayukta report, charging the Bharatiya Janata Party government of trying to shield the guilty. Seeking to move an adjournment motion in the Legislative Assembly, Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah (Congress), said the (then) Lokayukta, Justice Santosh Hegde submitted his interim report on illegal mining in December 2008.
Ahead of the crucial Lokayukta report on illegal mining in Karnataka which will be submitted before the chief secretary on Wednesday morning, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has sought the intervention of the Gods.
He gave the department time till February 13 to provide a complete record of office notes, orders and correspondence in this regard.
Justice Ghose, the former Supreme Court judge, was on March 19 appointed as the country's first Lokpal, the anti-corruption ombudsman.
Gujarat governor's decision to appoint Justice R A Mehta as Lokayukta was taken in haste, and without "aid or advice" of the council of ministers, state government on Wednesday stated before the Gujarat high court.
In a setback for Narendra Modi-led Gujarat government, the Supreme Court has upheld the appointment of Gujarat Lokayukta Justice R A Mehta by Governor Kamla Beniwal.
Karnataka High Court on Tuesday ordered issue of notice to Lokayukta in connection with the anticipatory bail plea filed by JDS leader H D Kumaraswamy on a private complaint alleging illegalities in denotification of government land in 2007 when he was the chief minister.
The report on illegal mining by Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde has stepped up the heat on big wigs in the state including Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa.
The Karnataka Lokayukta's report on illegal mining in the state is said to have named Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappaa, former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, the Reddy brothers among others.
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.
After the Supreme Court upheld the appointment of Lokayukta in Gujarat, Justice (retd) R A Mehta on Wednesday said the Modi government's attitude will not come in the way of his work.
The Gujarat government on Thursday approached the Supreme Court challenging the state high court order upholding the appointment of Justice R A Mehta as the Lokayukta by the governor.
The controversial Gujarat Lokayukta bill, which curtails the primacy of the Governor and high court chief justice in the appointment of the anti-corruption ombudsman, was on Tuesday passed by the assembly amid protests from the opposition Congress.
The Narendra Modi government on Tuesday introduced a bill in the Gujarat assembly, which curtails the 'primacy' of the chief justice of the state high court and the governor in the matter of appointment of the Lokayukta.
The state government had recommended the name of Justice S R Bannurmath as the next Lokayukta. However, the Governor sent the file back stating that he required clarifications on the same.
The Gujarat High Court, faced with an unprecedented situation with the state government challenging appointment of Lokayukta made by the Governor, on Monday asked the state to remove name of the Governor as respondent in the case.
Former Kerala high court chief justice S R Bannurmath has decided to quit the post of Lokayukta in Karnataka. Karnataka Chief Minister Sadanand Gowda said that the judge had sent a letter to him, requesting the state government not to pursue the matter with Governor H R Bharadwaj. Justice Bannurmath backed out after Bharadwaj rejected the government's recommendation to appoint him as Lokayukta, citing a land row among other reasons.
Lokayukta Justice Santhosh Hegde told rediff.com that the MLA, Y Sampangi had promised a person named Farooq that he would settle a dispute regarding a site in Bengaluru. He also demanded Rs 5 lakh as bribe towards the same.
The Bharatiya Janata Party government in Karnataka and Governor H R Bhardwaj continued to be at loggerheads over the appointment of the Lokayukta, with the latter telling the media on Monday in Bengaluru that he cannot appoint a Lokayukta who would help an accused
The Gujarat government could file a review petition in the Supreme Court against the apex court order upholding the appointment of Justice (retd) R A Mehta as Lokayukta by the governor.
Justice Shivraj Patil, former Judge of the Supreme Court will replace Justice Santhosh Hegde as the next Lokayukta of Karnataka next month. Speaking for the first time after his name was cleared by the Karnataka administration for the post, Patil tells Vicky Nanjappa in this short interview, that he is up to the challenge.
Lokayutka of Karnataka Justice Santosh Hegde said that the proposal made by Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa to give suo motu powers to the Lokayukta to investigate all public servants except the chief minister, ministers, legislators and public servants nominated by the government, neither makes him happy nor sad.
The return of former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa to the Bharatiya Janata Party and the inclusion of D K Shivakumar and Roshan Baig into the Congress cabinet in Karnataka have not gone down well with anti-corruption activists in the state.
The Supreme Court on Friday admitted an appeal filed by the Gujarat government challenging the state governor's decision to "unilaterally" appoint Justice (retd) R A Mehta as the Lokayukta.
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.
A wasted exercise, a total flop show and not to mention a total failure: This is how Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santhosh Hegde, member of the Lokpal Bill drafting panel, described the final outcome following the last meeting of the committee with the government.
The ongoing probe into illegal mining in Karnataka have revealed some startling facts, including the fact that transportation of ore has gone up two folds after the ban on it was imposed.
Seeking further probe into the issue of illegal mining following the report by Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde, an interlocutory application has been filed before the Supreme Court.
In an unprecedented move that will surely bring her on a collision course with the state government, Gujarat Governor Dr Kamla Beniwal, using her special powers, has appointed retired judge of Gujarat high court Justice RA Mehta as the Lokayukta of the state.The governor has bypassed the Narendra Modi-led state government while making the appointment. The state government has been sitting on the file regarding the appointment of a state Lokayukta.
The rampant mining in Karnataka and the politicians who minted money from it made headlines during the state election in 2008. But this year, the issue has taken a backseat and mining barons like Janardhana Reddy have been kept away from the electoral fray.
Illegal mining activities in Karnataka have wiped out 2,800 acres of forest land in the state, according to the probe report by Karnataka Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde.
Justice Madanlal Laxmandas Tahaliyani, a retired judge of the Bombay high court, was on Monday sworn in as the new Maharashtra Lokayukta.
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