Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (DC)
Bengaluru, Apr 19: Justice N Santhosh Hegde, former judge of the Supreme Court and a former Lokayukta of Karnataka, in a recent interview said that he was saddened by the BJP's move to declare tainted B S Yeddyurappa as their chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming assembly elections due on May 12.
In an interview with The Wire and Newsclick, Hegde said that he was saddened that a tainted person like Yeddyurappa has been nominated by the BJP as its chief ministerial candidate. “Though there were clinching evidence against Yeddyurappa and his sons who had received bribes from mining companies for granting illegal favours,” he said.
He also said that the state government and the law-enforcing agencies failed to pursue the corruption cases against Yeddyurappa and his family members. He also rued the way in which the faith of ordinary people is being eroded.
Talking about the report on BSY's corruption case, Hegde was quoted by ‘The wire’, "I feel very sad because I thought there was a foolproof case against him and I didn’t expect what happened in the trial court in the first instance. I’m not very sure whether they have filed an appeal against that order or not. We had enough proof that he received Rs 19-20 crore from a company called South West Mining Company which had absolutely no capital. It received (the money) one day, Rs 20 crore starting from the account of Jindal Steel Toranagallu, Bellary, which moved into three or four benami accounts and landed in the account of South West Mining Company.
“Out of that Rs 20 crore, Rs 10 crore by cheque was purportedly donated to an education trust in a neighbouring district called Shivamogga, which is wholly owned by Yeddyurappa and family. For a public servant to receive such a huge gift, according to me, is contrary to law, the disciplinary rules as well as the fact that the file was then pending with Yeddyurappa. As a chief minister he had the mining portfolio with him and received Rs 10 crore as donation which, according to me, per se shows that money was paid not as a donation but for considerations for showing favours in the mining application. Of course, the mining application was not granted thereafter because that matter was being investigated by me."
Talking about Yeddyurappa’s two sons, Raghavendra and Vijayendra, who had received about Rs 10 crore which was donated to an educational trust run by his family, Hegde said, "There is a place called Rachenahalli near Bangalore, Whitefield, where seven acres of land was acquired by the Karnataka government some years earlier and compensation was paid. The possession (of the land) was taken and the revenue records showed the land as belonging to the government, but it was not utilized. Yeddyurappa as chief minister denotified the seven acres which, according to me, is contrary to the Supreme Court’s judgment, as also the law.
“Out of those seven acres, there was (some land) purchased by a minister in his cabinet, Krishnaiah Shetty. He purposely sold one acre by a registered sale (deed) for a consideration of nearly Rs 40 lac or so to Yeddyurappa’s son-in-law and (his) two sons. The very land that they purchased for about Rs 40 lac was immediately thereafter purchased by Southwest Mining Company for a consideration of another Rs 10 crore. I mean, (the land) value cannot just go up like that. Obviously this a transaction, in my opinion, which of course is not accepted by the court, is a consideration for something else, other than the real market value (of the land), but it is a consideration for Yeddyurappa to pass a favourable order in the mining application that was pending before him."
Hegde during his tenure as the Lokayukta or people's ombudsman of Karnataka had prepared a voluminous report on illegal iron ore mining in 2011, which resulted in prosecution of former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa. The then chief minister, B S Yeddyurappa had to step down after the submission of final report by the Lokayukta. He became the first serving CM to go to jail. He was behind bars for 23 days.