“The Chief Secretary forwarded a letter written by former minister Nanje Gowda and lawyers S P Shankar and Subramanyam advising me to act in accordance with the legal provisions with regard to the disclosure of assets of officers raided by the Lokayukta police. I take serious exception to the letter. It is none of his business to write to me; he is not my boss,” said Justice Hegde.

Mr Gowda, Mr Shankar and Mr Subramanyam had criticised the Lokayukta for making the financial details of the raided officers public before they are investigated into. He added that under the Lokayukta Act and the Constitution, the Lokayukta is not answerable to the chief secretary. “An officer of the rank of the chief secretary should have acted more responsibly. If there’s anything wrong in my functioning, the aggrieved person can file a writ petition in the High Court against me,” he added.

The Lokayukta on Tuesday discussed the issue with Mr Tharakan, adviser to the Governor. “It’s apparent from certain things that have happened in the recent past that there’s an attempt to denigrate and denude the office of the Lokayukta,” said Justice Hegde.