Lok Ayukta

Justice N Santosh Hegde
Hon'ble Lok Ayukta, Karnataka 

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An apartment measuring approximately 2200 sq.ft. situated in No.13/1, Cavendish Court, Hayes Road, Bangalore presently estimated at Rs.65 lacs.

 Bank Deposits :-

1.     Canara Bank, Bhagwan Das Road, New Delhi – FD for Rs.10 lacs. (DOM 29.8.2005)

2.     IDBI Bonds for Rs.5 lacs. 

3.     UTI Bonds for Rs.3,28,200/- (DOM 1.4.2009)

4.     ICICI Technology Fund Plan for Rs.50,000/-

5.     ICICI Tax Plan for Rs.25,000/-

6.     Canara Bank, N.Delhi-FD for Rs.1.5 lacs in the name of Mrs.Hegde. (DOM 3.1.2006)

7.     Syndicate Bank, Bangalore – FD for Rs.66,176/- in the name of Mrs.Hegde. (DOM 20.11.2005)

8.     Syndicate Bank, Bangalore – FD for Rs.69,572/- in the name of Mrs.Hegde. (DOM 11.2.2006)

9.     UCO Bank, Supreme Court-FD (in joint names) for Rs.1,32,534/- (DOM 20.12.2005)

10. RBI  (Relief Bonds) – Rs.2 lacs. (DOM 12.10.2007)

11. RBI (Savings Bond) Rs.10 lacs. (DOM 12.10.2008)

12. Lamina Suspension Product – FDs for Rs. 8,550/- (Self)  & for Rs.10,000/- (Mrs.Hegde)

 Myself and my wife have following Bank Accounts –

1.     Canara Bank, Bhagwan Dass Road – Savings Bank A/c. No. 14348 –  Rs.18,68,515/- .

2.     UCO Bank, Supreme Court Compound, - Savings Bank A/c No.23642 – Rs.1,24,381/-.

3.     Canara Bank, Bhagwan Dass Road – Current A/c. No. 221 –  Rs.1,17,945/-.

4.     Canara Bank, Langford Garden, Bangalore – Savings Bank A/c No. 8947 – Rs.14,16,000/-. 

5.     Personal Jewellery – About Rs. 10 lacs.

6.     One Maruti Car – 800 – 2003 Model on hypothecation to Canara Bank, New Delhi.

                                                                                                                                                                             (Justice N. Santosh Hegde)   Top

Empower the institution to help conduct prosecution for corruption: Santosh Hegde

BANGALORE:    Lok Ayukta N. Santosh Hegde has urged the Government to set up special Lok Ayukta courts and empower the institution to conduct prosecution under the Prevention of Corruption Act, besides conferring suo motu powers on the legal authority.

These additional features would go a long way in strengthening the institution and reinforcing the fight against corruption, he said. He was speaking at his maiden press conference after being sworn in by the Governor here on Thursday.

Setting up special courts on the lines of CBI special courts to try corruption cases would help in avoiding the delay in adjudication, Justice Hegde said.

Reiterating his predecessor's demand for suo motu powers for the Lok Ayukta, Justice Hegde said it was necessary since people might hesitate to lodge complaints against powerful public servants.

Although the Upa Lok Ayukta had suo motu powers, his jurisdiction was limited, Justice Hegde added.

Justice Hegde said he would adopt a different approach to fight corruption and bring in good governance. "It is not possible for the Lok Ayukta to inspect each and every office in the State. The work will be done by officers and my duty is to supervise them," he said.

He said that he would visit places across the State not to inspect government offices, but to check whether the Lok Ayukta personnel were discharging their duty properly. He would hear public grievances in this regard, Justice Hegde said.

Justice Hegde said that his priority would be to create awareness among people and the target group would be school children and the youth.

"When people are aware of their rights and fight for them, the Government has no option but to provide good governance," he said. On the reported differences between his predecessor and the Upa Lok Ayukta Patri Basavanagoud, Justice Hegde said they did not have any difference of opinion.     Top
     

Shimoga/Bangalore: 

         Chief Minister Kumaraswamy said here on Thursday that the government is committed to giving any power that the new Lokayukta demands, including bringing the office of the chief minister and other ministers under its gambit.

He told reporters at the Shimoga helipad: “I am ready to even give ‘prosecution’ powers if the Lokayukta wants. I have read in newspapers about the Lokayukta seeking more powers. Since the government also is keen on providing a transparent administration, a decision will soon be taken at the Cabinet meeting.”.

Mr Kumaraswamy made the same point in Bangalore. Minutes after new Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde was sworn in by Governor T N Chaturvedi at the Raj Bhavan, Mr Kumaraswamy said: “the government will not hesitate to give additional powers to the Lokayukta.”

Additional powers

A couple of days prior to the retirement of former Lokayukta Justice N Venkatachala, Mr Kumaraswamy had said government was considering giving additional powers as sought by the then Lokayukta. But a day after Justice Venkatachala’s retirement, Mr Kumaraswamy ruled out more powers while claiming that “it would be detrimental to the powers vested with the government.”

Justice Hegde welcomed the chief minister’s assurance on giving additional powers. “I am not aware of his statement. If he has already told the media about it, then it has made my job easier,” Justice Hegde said.

Meanwhile, Upalokayukta Justice Patri Basavana Goud clarified that they were not asking for “absolute power” for the Lokayukta as reported in a section of the media. “Nobody can have absolute power in a democratic system. We want some additional powers to check corruption more effectively,” Justice Goud said.       Top

He wants to build public opinion against corruption

BANGALORE: The former Supreme Court judge, N. Santosh Hegde, who has been appointed Lokayukta, is serious on building public opinion against corruption. The target group, according to Mr. Hegde, will be the younger generation.

Admitting that the task was challenging, Mr. Hegde said he would continue the work of his predecessor N. Venkatachala. "There are lots of expectations from me due to my predecessor's war against corruption," he said.

In an informal chat with The Hindu, Mr. Hegde, who was in Bangalore on Monday, said he would tackle corruption by involving the student community. He said the younger generation was fed up with the menace. Besides, he proposed to seek the support of senior citizens in his task.

Mr. Hegde maintained that he had been a proactive person all through his legal career. However, everything would be done within the framework of the Act, he noted.

The provisions of the Act would be put to optimum use for the benefit of the public, he said.

If the law was silent on some aspects, he would approach the Government for a remedy, including bringing in amendments, if necessary.

On the much debated suo motu powers to the Lokayukta, Mr. Hegde said he favoured it. There should be no inequality between the Lokayukta and the Upalokayukta as for as their powers were concerned and that he would seek suo motu powers to act at least against certain categories of public servants.

On the proposals to enable the Lokayukta or the Upalokayukta to discharge the functions of one another in the absence of either of the posts and empowering the Lokayukta to launch prosecution without Government sanction, Mr. Hegde said he would talk about that after thoroughly going through the Karnataka Lokayukta Act.

Mr. Hegde who stressed on transparency in administration, said he would declare his assets and liabilities and post the information on the website of the institution.

"We are sitting in a glass house and before pointing fingers at others, we should be clean," he noted. A section of society felt there were black sheep in the Lokayukta set-up, he said and declared that he would cleanse the system if the feeling was found to be true. Mr. Hegde said he would work closely with the Upalokayukta and there would be no cause for differences. The fight against corruption would be a teamwork of the entire institution and it would not be individual-centric.        Top