Newsmaker: Shivaraj V Patil

Moral authority takes a beating

At a time when several politicians are under the scanner for numerous scams in Karnataka, the ombudsman Justice Shivaraj V Patil had to step down within 47 days after assuming the charge, over allotment of sites to his family in violation of rules.

When the announcement of Justice Shivaraj V Patil’s appointment as Lokayukta of Karnataka was made on July 26, the entire legal fraternity in Bangalore erupted in joy. Everyone in the bar were unanimous in their opinion that Patil was a worthy successor to Justice Santosh N Hegde, who left the office after becoming a household name for his explosive illegal mining scam report.

Legal professionals and bureaucrats, who have seen Justice Patil very closely feel that “Patil was a perfect gentleman, an excellent and honest judge well known for his humanitarian qualities and courteous behaviour in and out of the court hall.”

Patil took over as Lokayukta of Karnataka on August 3 from another former apex court judge Santosh Hegde. Within a week of his taking charge as Lokayukta, Justice Patil directed his police officials to raid several government officials and book cases of corruption against them. He also sounded an alarm for the “corrupt” ministers in the state by issuing a show-cause notice to Murugesh Nirani, industries minister and close confidant of former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, asking him why an inquiry should not be initiated against him for irregularities in the allotment of industrial land in Bangalore.

Then came allegations against Patil for violating Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) rules by securing allotment of a 9,600 square feet site at Judicial Employees Layout in 1994 and a 4,200 sq ft site in his wife’s name at Nagavara from the Vyalikaval Housing Cooperative Society.

After stepping down as Lokayukta, Patil told the media that he was deeply hurt and pained by a “malicious campaign” of a few and letting down the hopes of many who had reposed their faith in him. “I request all concerned to honestly reflect and decide whether they want to fight against corruption or malign the people who take up the fight against the corrupt? My fear is, campaigns like this will deter honest people from taking up such assignments, which would become a great disservice to the fight against corruption and playing into the hands of the corrupt,” he said.

Born on January 12, 1940 in a poor family, Shivaraj Viruapanna Patil completed his law degree and joined the bar at Gulbarga, one of the backward districts in Karnataka, in 1962. He practiced both on criminal and civil cases till he shifted his practice at Karnataka High Court in 1979. Upon moving to Bangalore, he was soon elevated to Judge, High Court of Karnataka in 1990, and after several high level appointments was elevated to the Supreme Court in 2000. After his retirement in 2005, Patil was appointed as a one-man committee to look into the spectrum allocation scam.

Various political parties and legal professionals were unanimous in their opinion that Justice Patil did not violate rule of law—plots were not allotted by the state government—and there was no need for him to step down.

“The media should have avoided highlighting this issue and as a result of unnecessary by-product of free speech, we have lost a good man and brilliant judge to take forward the office of Lokayukta in the state to its next level,” Sajjan Poovaiah, a senior member of the Karnataka State Bar Council said.