Has resignation saga dented Lok Ayukta image?

M. Gautham Machaiah

Now that the brouhaha over the resignation of Karnataka Lok Ayukta Justice Santosh Hegde and its subsequent withdrawal has died down, it is time for some introspection.

Justice Hegde announced his resignation at a press conference over the government’s failure to empower the Lok Ayukta, and then withdrew it under equally dramatic circumstances in full media glare.

During the entire drama, Justice Hegde washed dirty linen in public, spewing fire and brimstone at the government, even levelling serious allegations against the Chief Minister and his ministers. The Lok Ayukta’s disgust at the state of affairs is understandable, but those holding public offices, especially judges, are expected to act with a certain degree of restraint.

Even as of lakhs of people of the State led by none other than Governor Hans Raj Bharadwaj made an impassionate plea to Justice Hegde to withdraw his resignation and continue the crusade against corruption, he refused to budge.

Then one fine day, BJP president Nitin Gadkari and Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa come calling at the Lok Ayukta’s residence preceded by a phone call by party boss L.K. Advani, and Justice Hegde withdraws his resignation in deference to their wishes!

Judges are expected to strictly adhere to a code of conduct, and propriety demands that they do not entertain politicians, particularly at their residence. And now that Justice Hegde has openly professed his respect for “father figure” Advani, all his decisions will naturally be viewed with jaundiced eyes. Caesar’s wife should be above suspicion.

No doubt, the government has announced certain steps to strengthen the Lok Ayukta, but it is no secret that this is merely eyewash aimed at appeasing Justice Hegde and buying temporary truce with him. One fails to understand how a seasoned and distinguished judge like Justice Hegde had bitten the bait. Had the judge stood his ground, he would have emerged taller.

Unfortunately, the propensity to play to the gallery seems to have become the biggest bane of the justice delivery system today. While sitting judges mostly live behind the iron curtain, retired judges discharging judicial responsibilities seem to enjoy basking in media glory.

Justice Hegde’s crusader predecessor Justice N. Venkatachala, now a forgotten hero, always had the media in tow during his so-called raids on corrupt officers, but the same enthusiasm was not seen in the prosecution of the accused. In fact, many of these cases fell through.

More recently, the Andhra Pradesh State Human Rights Commission and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights banned the telecast of two reality shows on television, clearly exceeding their jurisdiction. These decisions received huge media publicity, but both the orders were stayed by courts, thereby severely denting the image of these institutions.

The Karnataka Lok Ayukta should resist falling into this trap. One wishes that lions like Justice Santosh Hegde do not end up as paper tigers.

(Picture sourced from www.flickr.com)