Bangalore: The following letter has been sent from His Excellency the Governor of Karnataka to the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Karnataka today.
-------------------------------------
You are aware, allegations relating to land scams, corruption and manipulation of rules and regulations regarding acquisition and denotifying of public lands regularly appeared in the media since September, 2010. Allegations of serious nature of corruption were levelled against the high office of the Chief Minister of the State by various groups, which delivered representations to me personally, thus creating a cloud on your personal integrity. You will recall that I addressed the letter of 15.12.2010 seeking factual information from you on the allegations levelled against you. In your reply dated 19.12.2010, you furnished no details and simply stated that the allegations were politically motivated and without any basis. However, you informed me that cases relating to land scams have been referred to a Commission of Inquiry headed by Justice Padmaraj, a retired Judge of the High Court.
When you visited Raj Bhavan for a courtesy call on 31.12.2010, I informed you of the receipt of this petition from the Advocates and during the discussion I informed you that this will have to be disposed of expeditiously and this cannot be kept pending indefinitely.
>>>
"If on these facts and circumstances, the Governor cannot act in his own discretion there would be a complete breakdown of Rule of Law in as much as it would then be open for Governments to refuse sanction in spite of overwhelming material showing that a prima-facie case is made out. If, in cases where prima-facie case is clearly made out, sanction to prosecute high functionaries is refused or withheld, democracy itself will be at stake. It would then lead to a situation where people in power may break the Law with impunity safe in the knowledge they will not be prosecuted as the requisite sanction will not be granted".
In the light of the above judgment, the Governor is entitled to and required to take an independent decision on the basis of the material available and therefore the Cabinet decision recommending to drop the consideration of the petition itself is unwarranted.
-------------------------------------
You are aware, allegations relating to land scams, corruption and manipulation of rules and regulations regarding acquisition and denotifying of public lands regularly appeared in the media since September, 2010. Allegations of serious nature of corruption were levelled against the high office of the Chief Minister of the State by various groups, which delivered representations to me personally, thus creating a cloud on your personal integrity. You will recall that I addressed the letter of 15.12.2010 seeking factual information from you on the allegations levelled against you. In your reply dated 19.12.2010, you furnished no details and simply stated that the allegations were politically motivated and without any basis. However, you informed me that cases relating to land scams have been referred to a Commission of Inquiry headed by Justice Padmaraj, a retired Judge of the High Court.
When you visited Raj Bhavan for a courtesy call on 31.12.2010, I informed you of the receipt of this petition from the Advocates and during the discussion I informed you that this will have to be disposed of expeditiously and this cannot be kept pending indefinitely.
Advertisement
>>>
"If on these facts and circumstances, the Governor cannot act in his own discretion there would be a complete breakdown of Rule of Law in as much as it would then be open for Governments to refuse sanction in spite of overwhelming material showing that a prima-facie case is made out. If, in cases where prima-facie case is clearly made out, sanction to prosecute high functionaries is refused or withheld, democracy itself will be at stake. It would then lead to a situation where people in power may break the Law with impunity safe in the knowledge they will not be prosecuted as the requisite sanction will not be granted".
In the light of the above judgment, the Governor is entitled to and required to take an independent decision on the basis of the material available and therefore the Cabinet decision recommending to drop the consideration of the petition itself is unwarranted.
Advertisement
COMMENTS
Advertisement
"Don't Need Support From...": DK Shivakumar Amid Chief Minister Buzz "Media Creation": DK Shivakumar On Demand For More Deputy Chief Ministers High Command Will Decide Based On My Work: DK Shivakumar On Chief Minister Post Buzz Israeli Jets Strike Yemen Rebels After Deadly Attack On Tel Aviv Woman On Scooter With 2 Kids Punched, Left Bleeding In Pune Road Rage Case After Retest, Haryana NEET Centre With Most Top Scorers Gave This Result... Imran Khan Being Kept In Filthy Circumstances In Jail, Says His Wife: Report 7 Bombs Defused In Imphal East District By Joint Army, Police Team 3.5-Magnitude Earthquake Hits Jammu And Kashmir Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.