The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Lokayukta not to act against official

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Thursday, Jun 11, 2009
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Lokayukta not to act against official

Staff Reporter

‘I appreciate the action taken by Chief Minister’
Lokayukta need not take Government permission to act

BANGALORE: Lokayukta N. Santosh Hegde, against whom Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner S. Subramanya had filed a case only to back off later has decided not to take any counter-action.

Mr. Subramanya was asked by the Government to withdraw the defamation case against the Lokayukta on Monday.

“Right now I am not thinking of any action against Mr. Subramanya. I appreciate the action taken by Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa in directing Mr. Subramanya to withdraw the case,” Mr. Hegde said on Wednesday.

Charge

The BBMP Commissioner filed the charge of defamation against Mr. Hegde after the Lokayukta criticised him in the aftermath of the disappearance of six-year-old Abhishek who drowned in a rain-flooded drain.

Provision

Official sources told The Hindu that the case against the Lokayukta could have attracted punitive action as it was a statutory quasi-judicial body.

The Lokayukta could make use of the Section 17 of the Karnataka Lokayukta Act. Section 17 (2) empowers the Lokayukta or the Upalokayukta to initiate proceedings against persons who bring disrepute to the two statutory posts. Punishment was simple imprisonment of not less than six months.

There was no need for Lokayukta or the Upalokayukta to take Government’s permission to initiate the proceedings, the sources said.

Contempt

In an earlier case, the Lokayukta initiated contempt proceedings against the then Tourism Minister B. Sriramulu in April 2007 for his alleged defamatory statements against Mr. Hegde in Bellary.

The case was dropped after Mr. Sriramulu appeared before the Lokayukta and apologised.

Sources said that Mr. Subramanya’s allegedly unauthorised use of an official confidential document appended to the defamation petition could go against him.

Mr. Subramanya had annexed his letter dated May 28 to the Chief Secretary which expressed his opinion over the Lokayukta inquiry pertaining to the BBMP’s plan sanction for UB City.

Adverse report

In that appended letter, Mr. Subramanya had stated the Lokayukta differed with him on the UB City issue and he feared an adverse report.

Sources said the use of this letter without sanction of the State Government could, under certain circumstances, be construed as misconduct under Rule 9 of the All India Services (Conduct) Rules. Rule 9 states: “No member of the service shall except in accordance with any general or special order of the Government or … communicate directly or indirectly any official document or part thereof or information to any Government servant or any other person to whom he is not authorised to communicate such document or information.”

Misconduct

Filing of the defamation case without the State Government’s permission could be viewed as misconduct under Rule 17 of the Conduct Rules, the sources said.

Rule 17 states: “No member of the service shall, except with the previous sanction of the Government, have recourse to any court or to the press for the vindication of the official act which has been the subject matter of adverse criticism or attack of a defamatory character.”

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