BENGALURU: The 67th Additional City Civil and Sessions Court has sentenced one G Shankar from Ballari to six months’ simple imprisonment and ordered him to pay a fine of Rs 5,000 for making derogatory and defamatory remarks against Upa Lokayukta Justice KN Phaneendra.
“Upa Lokayukta is a retired judge of the High Court of Karnataka, known for his integrity, honesty and hard work. When that being so, it can be said that the accused had intentionally made defamatory and derogatory remarks to bring disrepute to the institution of Lokayukta,” said Judge Rashmi M.
The judge noted that the contents of the two letters written by the accused in February 2023 and his reply to the show-cause notice of May 11, 2023, show that the statements made are aimed to bring disrepute to the Upa Lokayukta and Lokayukta, which is an offence under Section 17(2) of the Karnataka Lokayukta Act, 1984.
Shankar filed a complaint before the Lokayukta in 2015 alleging that the Assistant Commissioner (AC), Department of Hindu and Charitable Institutions, Ballari district, evicted many shops, including his father’s, in 2012.
After a notice was issued based on the complaint, the AC submitted a report on July 20, 2017 to the Upa Lokayukta, stating that action has been taken to construct a commercial complex for increasing the income of the temple and action would be taken to allot shops as per rules. Further, it was reported that the CMC commissioner rejected the proposal to construct shops on the grounds that Chariot Street would be widened from 15 to 18 metres.
Meanwhile, Shankar sent a letter alleging that the AC and other officials failed to clear encroachments on Chariot Street. The officials cleared the encroachments when asked to do so and submitted a report.
After this, Shankar sent the derogatory letters to the Upa Lokayukta and also to the Lokayukta repeating those remarks.
