Plea for probe into alleged loss of mineral sources during their tenure; court to consider it tomorrow.
A complaint was filed against three former chief ministers—SM Krishna, N Dharam Singh and HD Kumaraswamy—and 11 bureaucrats at Lok Ayukta special court on Wednesday, accusing them of abetting illegal mining in the state during their tenure.
The complainant, TJ Abraham, is a social worker and the president of Karnataka Anti-Graft and Environmental Forum. He is the regional service director of Y’s Men International, South India region, too. He has sought Lok Ayukta inquiry into the alleged loss of mineral sources during their tenure. He has alleged that the state’s mineral resources were looted when Krishna, Singh and Kumaraswamy were chief ministers, causing loss to the state exchequer.
In his complaint, Abraham named bureaucrats, too, including IAS and IPS officials. The list of the accused includes Jija Madhavan Harisingh (IPS), who has served as managing director of state-owned Mysore Minerals Ltd. Some of the other accused are Mahendra Jain, DS Aswath, KS Manjunath, IR Perumal, V Umesh and Basappa Reddy, former director of mines and geology department. Shankaralingaiah, deputy general manager of MML, is also an accused.
Abraham has appealed to the Lok Ayukta court to take cognisance of the offences committed by them under the Prevention of Corruption Act and order an investigation. The case came up for hearing before Justice NK Sudhindra Rao, who adjourned the petition for orders over its admissibility to Friday, December 2.
Krishna’s role
The complainant has alleged that Krishna, currently a Union minister and a member of Rajya Sabha, during his tenure as Karnataka’s chief minister between October 11, 1999, and May 28, 2004, “had indulged in various acts of omission and commission of illegalities in relation to the grant of leases for mining in Karnataka”. He has further alleged that Krishna has illegally amassed wealth in the name of his family members, including his children and in-laws, and also in the names of his erstwhile close cabinet colleagues.
Regarding Kumaraswamy and Singh—whom the Lok Ayukta report has also indicted—he has sought sanction for their prosecution by the speaker of the Lok Sabha as they are currently members of Parliament. The interim report of the Lok Ayukta had indicted Singh and Harisingh, but the then governor Rameshwar Thakur had dropped action against them when the state was under the president’s rule in 2007.
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