'Society should become more humanitarian'

Santosh Hegde speaks to students on corruption

Judges should understand the fact that democracy in the country will not survive if people lose faith in the judicial system, said former Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde.

He was delivering a talk on “Corruption in India” organised by Youth Red Cross, Nature Conservation Trust at Adichunchanagiri Institute of Technology on Saturday.

Justice Hegde said the judiciary should consider all citizens equal and not discriminate between rich and poor. “It looks like the society has accepted corruption. A situation has arisen where those who come out of jail on bail are welcomed with garlands. The situation should change. The path of life should be on humanitarian values,” he advised.

“When the GST was mooted by the Congress-led UPA government, the BJP opposed it. However, now the BJP-led NDA government is implementing the GST. The elected representatives should have knowledge of the problems faced by the people in his constituency,” he reminded.

To a query by the student on whether the deputy commissioner could work without any pressure from politicians, the former Lokayukta said, “One can discharge his/her duties honestly if he/she is not greedy for power.”
On reservation, he said that the reservation benefits should reach only once to an individual.