BANGALORE: The High Court on Friday reserved its orders on a petition filed by Assembly Speaker K G Bopaiah seeking to quashing an FIR over alleged misuse of funds in a lake development project. Counsel for Kodagu ZP member Saritha Poonacha argued that despite the government sanctioning Rs 1.2 crore on February 26, 2008, to Kodagu zilla panchayat engineering department for providing drinking water facility, no progress was made till date.
However, the Lokayukta counsel stated that the Kodagu Nirmitha Kendra taken Rs 60 lakh and had executed work to the tune of Rs 20 lakh, which was stayed as a greenbelt was encountered in the course of the work. The police had registered an FIR against Bopaiah following a directive from District and Sessions Judge Ashok Nijagannanavar, on a complaint filed by Saritha Poonacha, Kodagu ZP member, on December 2.
PIL filed for new Lokayukta
Another Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking early appointment of Lokayukta in the state was filed in the High Court on Friday. The petitioners Siddana Gowda C Patil and Manohar S Kattimani have stated that the post has remained vacant following the resignation of Justice Shivaraj V Patil, and that the government has not made efforts to appoint someone for the post. The petition, along with a similar petition filed earlier, is likely to come up for hearing next week.