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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
In a letter to the Mysuru Urban Development Authority commissioner she said she was allotted the 14 alternative sites in the third and fourth phase of Vijayanagar in Mysuru against the usage of her three acres and 16 Guntas of land in Kesare village under Kasaba Hobli in Mysuru.
Congress president M Mallikarjun Kharge, meanwhile, came to Siddaramaiah's defence, stating that the party is standing with him and will support him.
'I thought AAP will uphold administrative fairness which is not there. And it is an indication of the fact that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely'
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.
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.
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.
Karnataka Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda on Sunday said the state would get a new Lokayukta in the next 15 days.
Following allegations that his office tried to bribe some journalists by sending Rs 1 lakh cash gifts to them on Deepavali, along with sweet boxes, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday denying his role, called it a 'lie' and part of the 'Congress' toolkit'.
According to Lokayukta sources, Prashanth, the chief accounts officer of Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board, was caught red-handed on Thursday evening while accepting a bribe of Rs 40 lakh from a contractor at the Karnataka Soap and Detergent Limited (KSDL) office.
Vicky Nanjappa goes through Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde's explosive report on illegal mining in the state and reveals damning figures of corruption.
In an interview with rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa, the Karnataka Lokayukta makes it clear that he would not make life miserable for the Bharatiya Janata Party just because the Congress wants him to do it.
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.
The row over former Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde's insinuation that illegal mining was akin to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim's dealings escalated on Tuesday with Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar calling it 'baseless and unwarranted' and also far from reality.
The Karnataka Lokayukta seized 19 kilograms of gold, silver and cash from K S Eshwarappa's house, reports Vicky Nanjappa
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.
In the backdrop of transfer of Haryana IAS officer for probing land deals, former Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde on Thursday asked state and central governments to leave issue of transfers to bureaucracy.
Spelling more trouble for former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, Karnataka Lokayukta Police on Monday filed a chargesheet against him and former Industries Minister Katta Subramanya Naidu for "criminal misconduct as public servants in arbitrarily denotifying land".
But nobody in Karnataka is looking to raise the Bellary illegal mining issue in their election campaign.
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.
There is nothing wrong in bringing the prime minister under the jurisdiction of Lokpal as like others he is also a public servant, former Supreme Court Judge and erstwhile Karnataka Lokayukta N Santosh Hegde said on Wednesday.
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 Supreme Court judge N Santosh Hegde says a political party floated purely on the anti-corruption plank will not succeed in elections at this stage as money power and diversity play a role.
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.
Opposition demand for resignation of External Affairs Minister S M Krishna for his alleged role in a mining scam led to repeated disruptions of both the Houses of Parliament on Friday, forcing their adjournment till Monday.
Rejecting the recommendation for appointing former Kerala high court Chief Justice S R Bannurmath as Karnataka Lokayukta, Governor H R Bhardwaj on Wednesday asked the Bharatiya Janata Party government to find another judge not entangled in any controversy.
The Karnataka Lokayukta which conducted a raid at the residence of Deputy Chief Minister K S Eshwarappa, has found Rs 10,70,000. This was informed to the media by Additional Director General of police Lokayukta S N Rao.
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.
Initially, it was all gold. But Justice Hegde's report exposed the dingy substrate of Bellary's mining operations.
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.
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