BENGALURU: Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa is about to dismiss, for want of evidence, the Congress MLAs’ motion to remove Upa Lokayukta Subhash B Adi.
After petitioning the Speaker, party MLAs have provided no documents to substantiate their charge that Justice Adi had favoured a government doctor in a corruption case. “Except for photocopies of the charges against Justice Adi, no documents have come despite several reminders,” a senior official at the secretariat told Express.
The Speaker’s office had, over the past weeks, repeatedly asked the MLAs and Law Minister T B Jayachandra to provide certified copies of documents mentioned in their motion against Adi. “But our requests were ignored. The Speaker has no option but to reject the motion,” the official said.
The petitioners have done little to substantiate their main charge against Adi — that he jumped jurisdiction and let Dr Shailaja Patil off the hook in a medical-supplies diversion case.
“The Lokayukta had not issued any specific orders marking out district turfs,” the source said. “So there was no question of jumping jurisdiction.”
On November 27, Congress MLA Tanveer Sait initiated a motion for Adi’s removal on grounds of misconduct, amid strong protests from Jagadish Shettar, Leader of the Opposition.
Thimmappa had allowed the motion, signed by 78 MLAs, but had said he would act only after seeking details from the Department of
Personnel and Administrative Reforms and the Lokayukta Registrar.
His office had also communicated to the Karnataka High Court that Adi was facing a motion that was yet to be adopted.