Karnataka to have new Lokayukta in a few days, says Law Minister

BANGALORE: Karnataka will announce the name of the new Lokayukta in about three days, Law Minister T.B.Jayachandra told ET.

The names of two former Chief Justices, Vikramjit Sen and S.R.Nayak are before the government for consideration, and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will finalise the appointment, the Law Minister said.

While Justice Sen is also a former Judge of Supreme Court, Justice Nayak also headed the Karnataka Human Rights Commission.

There have been reports that Vikramjit Sen has withdrawn from the fray after he heard that some people were opposed to the idea of having him as Lokayukta, and that he wrote a letter to the government withdrawing from the fray saying that he would accept an offer only if the decision is consensual. Even the Chief Minister had recently said some sections of people had favoured a Kanndiga to head the institution.

The Law Minister, however, denied having received any such letter from Justice Sen, and said Sen’s name was also very much in the reckoning.

The office of Lokayukta has been dysfunctional for some time now after Justice Bhaskar Rao’s role came under cloud following allegations of large scale corruption in the anti-corruption watchdog. An elaborate investigation into the allegations led to a few arrests including that of Justice Rao’s son Ashwin Rao whom the investigators said was a prominent member of the gang behind the extortion racket. This eventually led to Justice Rao resigning his post last month.