Upalokayukta Adi returns to work

Bengaluru:  With the Secretariat of Legislative Assembly Speaker informing the High court that the communication issued to the Lokayukta Registrar does not indicate that the Upalokayukta Justice Subhash B Adi should not function, the latter attended office on Friday morning. 

 

Justice Adi had stopped coming to the office from November 28, after the motion for his removal was admitted in the Assembly. He had questioned the procedures followed in the matter. Representing him, senior counsel B.V. Acharya had submitted that there was a lapse by Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa, as he admitted the motion to remove Justice Adi, though there were no charges of incapability or misbehaviour against him. He also argued that section 6(14) of Karnataka Lokayukta Act that precluded Upa Lokayukta from discharging his duties was also cited in the communication dated December 3. 

 

Appearing on behalf of the Speaker's Secretariat, Advocate General Madhusudan R Naik informed the court that there Justice Adi himself stopped going to office after motion was adopted. “Only the legal provisions were conveyed as the Registrar of Lokayukta wanted some clarification. It did not indicate that Justice Adi should not function.” Following this, Justice Anand Byrareddy posted the matter after winter vacation and also directed the  Advocate General to file objections. Justice Adi went to his office around 3 pm and met Justice N Ananda, who took charge as Upalokayukta 1 on Wednesday.