Siddaramaiah Government loses legal tussle against Upa Lokayukta Adi
Synopsis
In a major setback to the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in Karnataka, Justice R B Budihal, who was appointed to look into the charges made against Upa Lokayukta Justice Subhash B Adi gave him a clean-chit.
Based on the inquiry report submitted by Justice Budihal, State Assembly Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa, on Thursday, issued a ruling to drop the impeachment motion by the Congress leaders.
In November 2015, 78 Congress MLAs had moved a motion against Adi, following which the state assembly speaker Thimmappa had requested Chief Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee to appoint an inquiry officer to examine the charges. Since then Justice Adi has withheld from discharging his duties.
Giving a clean-chit to Justice Adi, High court judge, Justice R B Budihal in his 316-page report stated: “I am of the opinion that the complainants have failed to prove the charges with cogent, acceptable and satisfactory material.”
Initially, the Congress leaders had charged Justice Adi with overstepping his jurisdiction and closing a case against medical officer Dr Shaila Patil, who, according to the Congress, is a relative of BJP leader Jagadish Shettar. Later several more charges were brought up against him.