JOIN USAt first glance, the Yeddyurappa government’s appointment of a judicial commission to inquire into land scams since 1995 in the state appears to be an attempt at bringing out the muck in irregular allotment of sites by the Bangalore Development Authority, the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board, the Karnataka Housing Board and other urban local bodies. However, a close look at what lies beneath the appointment of the judicial commission suggests murky motives. It seems aimed at covering up rather than unearthing the truth. The commission is headed by Justice B Padmaraj, himself a beneficiary of irregular land allotments, according to a probe by a Joint Legislature Committee. Few therefore expect him to probe fairly and fix accountability for the irregularities in land allotment in the state. What makes the government’s appointment of the judicial commission all the more suspect is the fact that the land scams are already being probed by the Lokayukta. The Lokayukta is reported to have made considerable progress in probing irregularities by the KIADB. Why then is there a need for the government to institute a parallel probe into the same issue? Does the government fear what the Lokayukta will dig up? Is the appointment of a judicial commission a ruse to neutralise the findings of the Lokayukta?
The government’s appointment of the judicial commission is distressing not only because it seems aimed at obfuscating the truth but worse, at undermining the authority of the Lokayukta. It is seeking to bypass its findings. Besides weakening the institution of the Lokayukta, BJP MLAs have been passing inappropriate remarks about Justice Santosh Hegde, which must be condemned. If the government was so keen on the judicial inquiry, it could have consulted the Lokayukta on the matter and entrusted Justice Padmaraj with the issues which were not already under investigation.
The government has sought to justify its appointment of the judicial commission by pointing out that it is probing a “wider gamut of issues”. Indeed, it will probe land deals from 1995, unlike the Lokayukta’s whose mandate is the post-2005 deals. Obviously, the government is hoping that irregularities in deals made during previous governments that might come up in the new probe will embarrass the opposition too. While a probe into all land deals is welcome, that need not be done by subverting ongoing investigations by the Lokayukta.