High Court imposes cost of Rs one lakh on Karnataka govt
Bengaluru(PTI): Coming down heavily on the Karnataka government for its "lethargic attitude" for failing to make efforts to obtain sanction to prosecute a former chief secretary, the High Court imposed a fine of Rs one lakh on it.
The government pleader had sought six weeks' time to get sanction for prosecution under the Prevention of Corruption Act on April 20, 2022, and the court had granted six weeks.
In its recent daily order, the HC said "It appears that the government is not interested in pursuing the matter and protecting the property of the State, which is at the hands of the former Chief Secretary. Hence, the very attitude of the State has to be deprecated and till date even not processed the papers for getting sanction from DOPT (Department of Personnel and Training) and yet to send the papers."
Hence, the HC imposed the cost of Rs one lakh on the state government which has to be paid within one week.
"The state government is directed to deposit the fine amount and recover the same from the concerned, who have not taken any action in getting the sanction from the DOPT in sending papers in spite of six weeks time being granted."
The original complaint had been filed by Bhaskaran alleging that Arvind Jadhav, the then Chief Secretary, along with the deputy commissioner, assistant commissioner and Tahsildar of Anekal taluk had misused official power to create fake documents pertaining to government land in village Ramanayakanahalli in Anekal taluk.
The government initiated action against junior government officials and sanctioned permission to prosecute them under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
One of the accused, a surveyor at the department of land records, D B Gangaiah, approached the High Court against the case filed against him through his advocate A V Nishanth.
This petition is pending before the High Court from 2020. The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) had submitted the progress report on the case to the HC in sealed covers in 2021. The court was informed that sanction to prosecute Anil Kumar, tahsildar of Anekal and other officials were pending.
In February 2022, the HC was informed that sanction was obtained to prosecute all government officials accused in the case except the retired Chief Secretary as he was "already retired from service and competent authority has to give sanction and the same is in process and it takes time since they have to get sanction from the Central Government DOPT."
In March, four weeks were sought to get the necessary documents translated. When the petition came up before Justice H P Sandesh on June 8, the sanction had not yet been obtained.
"...it appears that the state government is proceeding in the matter in a lethargic attitude and this Court has to prevail upon the state government to protect the property of the State when the former Chief Secretary made an attempt to knock off the property to an extent of 66 acres, in spite of complaint being filed in the year 2016," the HC said.
The Court has warned of serious action if the fine is not paid. "If cost is not paid, a serious action will be taken against the concerned regarding not processing the papers for getting the sanction from the department concerned," the Court said.
The petition has been posted for hearing next on June 16.
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Delhi Polls: BJP faces protest, placates MLA amid resentment over ticket distribution
New Delhi, Jan 12: Resentment surfaced in the BJP on Sunday over ticket distribution for Delhi Assembly polls, with a protest held outside its Delhi unit office and an angry outburst by the outgoing MLA from Karawal Nagar who was not included in the candidate list released a day earlier.
As MLA Mohan Singh Bisht threatened to revolt after being denied a ticket from Karawal Nagar, the party rushed to control the damage and announced his candidature from the Mustafabad seat this evening.
A group of protesters from Tughlakabad in South Delhi held a dharna at the gate of the Delhi BJP office, demanding a change in the candidate from the constituency.
"Vikram Bidhuri Tum Sangharsh Karo; Modi Se Bair Nahi, Rohtas Teri Khair Nahi," the protesters, including mostly youngsters, chanted as the party leaders tried to pacify them.
In the second list of BJP candidates for the polls declared on Saturday, Rohtas Bidhuri was fielded from the Tughlakabad seat. In 2020 Assembly polls, Vikram Bidhuri who is a relative of senior party leader Ramesh Bidhuri, lost to AAP's Sahiram by over 13,000 votes.
A similar protest was also held by some party workers outside the Delhi BJP office against Mehrauli candidate Gajainder Yadav after the announcement of the first list of candidates earlier this month.
Bisht, the senior-most BJP MLA in the outgoing Assembly elected five times from Karawal Nagar, openly expressed unhappiness over being denied the ticket to contest from his stronghold.
A senior party leader said he was pacified after a meeting with BJP chief JP Nadda.
Bisht, after getting the ticket from Mustafabad, expressed confidence that he would win the seat for the BJP.
"I met the national president and things were ironed out. I have assured that I will contest from Mustafabad and win the seat for the party," Bisht told PTI.
The MLA said he and the BJP had considerable support in Mustafabad and he has already attended two public meetings there.
The BJP won the Mustafabad seat, having a significant minority community presence, in the 2015 Assembly polls but lost it to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in 2020.
Earlier in the day, Bisht told PTI that the party's decision to replace him with Kapil Mishra was "wrong" and its consequences will be visible after voting on February 5.
"You have challenged the 'samaj' (his Uttarakhandi community), not Mohan Singh Bisht. The BJP will lose at least 8-10 seats because of this decision, including Karawal Nagar, Burari, Mustafabad and Gokalpuri," Bisht warned.
The BJP fielded Kapil Mishra, a Hindutva hardliner, from Karwal Nagar in North East Delhi, which was rocked by massive communal violence just after the 2020 Assembly polls.
Sources in the party claimed that there was also "deep resentment" among the Delhi BJP's Scheduled Castes Morcha leaders over being denied tickets from different constituencies including Madipur and Kondli.
A top Delhi BJP functionary stressed that there are many ticket aspirants, so it is natural for those who did not get selected to feel disappointed.
"The BJP is a disciplined party and its leaders understand this. Sooner or later, everyone will realise this and work for the victory of the party giving up their resentment," he said.
The elections to 70 Assembly seats in Delhi are scheduled on February 5. Results will be out after the counting of votes on February 8.
The BJP, out of power in Delhi since 1998, is making all-out efforts to return to power. In the 2015 and 2020 Assembly polls, the party was completely routed by the AAP, scraping through with just three and eight seats, respectively.
