The decision of the state cabinet to confer suo motu powers on the Lokayukta to initiate investigation into complaints against government officials including IAS and IPS officers up to the rank of chief secretary, though delayed, is a welcome one. Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy can claim to have at least partially fulfilled a promise he had made to Justice Santosh Hegde when the latter took over as Lokayukta in August 2006. From a promise made earlier to give “full powers” to Lokayukta to inquire into misdeeds of even ministers and elected representatives, the cabinet decision now may appear less radical, but it is still a forward movement. In fact, when the Karnataka Lokayukta Act came into force in 1986, both Lokayukta and Upalokayukta had been granted suo motu powers, but the Lokayukta’s wings were clipped within six months, making it almost a toothless body. It has taken more than two decades for the government to overcome the pressures from vested interests to bring at least the top officials once again under the Lokayukta’s scanner.
Though Karnataka prided itself on being the first state in the country to set up the institution of Lokyaukta, it was virtually unknown to the people until Justice N Venkatachala took over in 2001 and gave it a new profile and a direction. Justice Venkatachala tried to instill fear among corrupt officials by conducting a series of raids and exposing their misdeeds through the media, but when it came to follow up action leading to conviction, he found himself handicapped. Many a recommendation for prosecution made by him gathered dust in government cabins as the caucus of officials invariably stonewalled the Lokayukta. Though Justice Venkatachala earned a lot of goodwill and public support for his crusading effort, he was a frustrated man when he left office last year.
Justice Hegde has expressed his happiness at getting suo motu powers against officials above the rank of Class I officers and hopefully, he will be able to put the fear of law in the minds of corrupt elements in the bureaucracy.
The Kumaraswamy government should have gone a step further and given him the power of prosecution as well. After all, Justice Hegde was a distinguished judge of the Supreme Court and he could be trusted to deal evenhandedly with the issues before him. Now he can only recommend action, and again it is the bureaucracy which will decide when and against whom to act. The government should consider including this provision in the proposed ordinance.
