BANGALORE: Breaking his three-and-half month stoic silence, former Kerala High Court chief justice S R Bannurmath on Tuesday hit back at Governor H R Bharadwaj stating that all allegations made against him by the latter were false, vitriolic and motivated by irrelevant considerations.
Justice Bannurmath who had on Monday withdrawn himself from being considered for the post of Lokayukta through a letter to Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda told reporters here that he had done so as he was deeply hurt at the malicious campaign out against him.
“I have taken such a decision not because there is any truth in the allegations or that I am scared of it but because I am not in a position to withstand the continuous onslaught of false charges against my integrity,” Bannurmath said.
Bannurmath also took serious objection to the Governor vacillating on his appointment. “First he (the Governor) said that the site was the issue for not accepting my name. When the CM replied to this, he then said there were other reasons to reject the proposal which cannot be disclosed. “This can only be seen as a ploy to give way to other political considerations. Such vague and bald statements do not allow me to answer to them,” the justice claimed.
Claiming to be innocent, Bannurmath, who is under the public scanner ever since allegations started pouring against him, also sought help from the Judiciary to initiate action of contempt of court against the Governor. “Don’t such allegations against a former CJ debase the Judiciary, and if so, is it not the responsibility of the higher custodians of the administration of justice to intiate the action of contempt of court against such people?” Bannurmath asked.
Making a point-by-point rebuttal of the accusations made against him, Bannurmath also sought to know why such a hue and cry was not made when Justice Chandrashekharaiah was appointed as the Upalokayukta.
According to him, Chandrashekharaiah was also allotted a site in the judicial layout despite owning other property in Bangalore.
On Being BSY’s Man
“It is a coincidence that I and the former CM belong to the same community. Apart from this, I have no connection with him whatsoever. As a matter of fact, I do not belong to any political party nor do I have any affiliation to any politician,” Bannurmath said.
“I solemnly state that I do not own any other property. The site allotted to me was not part of the area reserved for the civic amenities. Moreover, the High Court and the Supreme Court have dismissed the writ petitions challenging the allotment of sites for High Court judges in the judicial layout. Unfortunately, neither the media nor anyone else took note of it,” he added.
On Supreme Court passing strictures on him, Bannnurmath said: “I would like to state with all confidence that no adverse strictures have been passed by the Apex court in any of the cases decided by me. On the contrary I had received eloquent testimonials on the eve of my retirment from Justice V R Krishna Iyer.”
He also added that other allegations expressing doubt about his integrity and character as allegedly stated by the Governor do not provide any material or source of information to enable him to meet the same.