Should a politician resign after being accused of corruption?

The moment a case is filed against a political leader, opposition parties go all out demanding his resignation.

On Thursday, a FIR was registered against three former chief ministers of Karnataka in connection to a case of illegal mining.

The FIR was registered in the wake of a private complaint filed in the court of the Karnataka Lokayukta, which alleged that S M Krishna, N Dharam Singh and H D Kumaraswamy had helped certain companies carry out illegal mining, as a result of which a substantial loss had been caused to the exchequer of the state.

The Lokayukta police will now prepare a report and submit it by January 6 as per the directive of the court.

Justice Santosh Hegde, former Lokayukta of Karnataka, had filed a detailed report on illegal mining just before his retirement.

Though his report created quite a furore as it had named then Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, it did not name Krishna, the Union external affairs minister.

Refusing to comment on Krishna's name not being included in his report, he said, "I do not want politicians attributing anything to me. My report speaks for itself and there is nothing more to it. I have probed each and every angle of the case and have put up a comprehensive report. It may be alleged that I had left out some names on purpose in my report."

Speaking on whether a legislator, who has been legally accused of something, should step down, Hegde said, "When there is a charge against a person in public life and the charge shows that his or her behaviour has been corrupt, then that person ought to step down. I believe that the concept innocent until proven guilty should not hold good for public issues since these are issues involving moral turpitude".

But he added, "We also need to find out if it is a case of mere mud slinging against a person in public office. In such cases, no decision should be taken until the court frames charges. The police need to file an FIR, investigate the matter and then file a charge-sheet with documentary evidence. Till the charges are framed and a prima facie case is made out, no decision should be taken about the person stepping down. Each complaint needs to be studied properly before any action is taken".

In cases where a private party has lodged the complaint, there should be no question of stepping down, he said.

Justice Hegde, who is a member of the Lokpal Bill drafting panel, admits that he doesn't have much hope about the bill becoming a reality anytime soon.

"At every stage of the drafting process, the government appears to have maintained control. I have my own apprehensions about that and I am sure the final version would be a watered down Bill," said Hegde.

Reiterating his decision to protest against the government's attempts to change the Bill, he said, "We are left with no option but to protest. But I don't think protesting against a change in every section of the Bill is feasible. We will seek an amendment if the need arises".