IT sleuths must keep an eye on wedding of Reddy's daughter: Justice Hegde

Mysuru: Former Lokayukta Justice Santhosh Hegde has said that the grand wedding of former BJP minister and mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy’s daughter is an indication of the amount of assets he would have gained from illegal mining. The Income tax department must keep an eye on this, he said.

Speaking to mediapersons here on Thursday, Justice Hegde, who pioneered the explosive report on illegal mining in the state which led to the exit of the Yeddyurapa government, said, “They (the Reddys) have sold ore for Rs 6,000 to China after paying a mere Rs 27 to the government.”

To a question related to the recent fire in the Lokayukta premises, he said, “It seems to be an act of miscreants due to lapse in security. If they wanted to destroy documents, they would have lit the fire inside.”

On the Supreme Court’s verdict on the Cauvery row, the former top court judge said, “As a retired judge, I cannot comment on it. I am not aware about the basis on which they are asking the state to release water (to TN). And it is quite obvious that people lose trust in the judiciary in such circumstances.”

About the shortage of judges in the country, he said, “It takes at least 15 years for the completion of a case now. When there is so much shortage of judges, it might take even longer.”