The Karnataka Lokayukta, a forerunner in the country to check corruption at all levels of the government since 1986, is now in peril, with political influences creeping in to remove the presiding authorities, be it the Lokayukta or the Upalokayukta.
The decision of the Legislative Assembly to ratify a motion to remove the Lokayukta, the first of its kind in nearly three decades, is now being followed up with a move of a similar kind to unseat the Upalokayukta.
The case against Lokayukta Y. Bhaskar Rao, a former chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court, was borne out of corruption charges made out against his son, who is perceived to have used the office of the Lokayukta.
In the case of the Upalokayukta, a section of Congressmen have been instrumental in raising charges. It is another matter that several civic organisations and members of the bar in the Karnataka High Court have expressed their opposition to the removal of Upalokayukta Subhash B. Adi. While Mr. Bhaskar Rao has refused to resign, the Upalokayukta has issued a public statement that he will voluntarily quit if a charge of corruption, backed by appropriate evidence, is made out against him.
While the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Janata Dal (Secular) put in the requisite signatures of legislators to lend weight to the motion against the Lokayukta, a section of Congressmen are now preparing for a similar exercise against the Upalokayukta, although several senior Congress leaders and Ministers have sought to distance themselves from such a move.
While the Opposition parties have been demanding the resignation of the Lokayukta ever since corruption charges were made against his son, the Congress has been seeking the removal of the Upalokayukta, since he is believed to be a friend of a former BJP Chief Minister.
It should be noted that the Supreme Court, about a year ago, set aside the appointment of former Justice Chandrashekaraiah as Upalokayukta on the ground that he was appointed by the government without consultation with the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court.
In recent months, the incumbent Governor Vajubhai R. Vala rejected the proposal of the Siddaramaiah government to appoint Justice K.L. Manjunath for the post of Upalokayukta. Evidently, the government had side-stepped the selection committee comprising the presiding officers and the leaders of the Opposition of the two Houses of the State legislature.
The post of the Lokayukta is reserved for a person who has served as Chief Justice of a High Court, or a judge of the Supreme Court, while that of the Upalokayukta has been set aside for a judge of the High Court.
The government has been finding it difficult to obtain the services of former judges for the two posts given the fact that a number of them have spurned the offer since charges were made out against some of them even before they could be sworn-in.
In a recent judgment, the Supreme Court urged the State government and the Chief Minister to expeditiously fill the posts of the Upalokayukta as it cannot be held vacant for long as per the Lokayukta Act.
The government should bear this in mind before yielding to pressures to remove the ombudsmen of the watchdog institution.
(The writer is Resident Representative, The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy, Bengaluru)
