And the Karnataka Lokayukta is... Justice Shetty?

Bengaluru: A retired judge of the Karnataka High Court, Justice Perody Vishwanath Shetty emerged as the unanimous choice of the selection committee headed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for the post of Lokayukta that has been lying vacant for over a year.

Members of the committee, which met on Monday, included Chief Justice S.K.Mukherjee,  Opposition leader in the Assembly Jagadish Shettar, Opposition leader in the  Council, K.S.Eshwarappa,  Speaker K.B. Koliwad,  Council Chairman, D.H. Shankarmurthy and Chief Secretary Subhash Kuntia.

While Mr Siddaramaiah suggested the name of Justice Shetty, the BJP recommended the names of Justice Anand Byra Reddy and Justice N.K. Patil besides that of Justice Shetty for the post. With Mr Koliwad too voting in favour of Justice Shetty and  Chief Justice Mukherjee agreeing to go with the consensus candidate, the choice fell on the retired judge.

Mr Siddaramaiah explained that while retired Chief Justices of the High Court and retired judges of High Court with ten years of service could be considered for the post, Justice Shetty had emerged as the consensus candidate for the post. " We have decided to recommend him for the post," he said.

Speaking to the 'Deccan Chronicle', Justice Shetty said he was  happy the committee headed by the Chief Minister had unanimously agreed to recommend him as the state's next Lokayukta. "With the cooperation of the government, people and media, I can promise to bring transparency in the system. If there is no hidden agenda,  transparency is possible," he added.

Rubbishing  allegations that he had got a site in the Judicial Layout on the basis of  a false affidavit, he asserted, "I have not given any false affidavit. This is a malicious campaign against me."