Justice N Santosh Hegde, the Lokayukta of Karnataka, is scheduled to meet the state governor on Wednesday evening to tender his resignation. The news has shocked many as Justice Hegde has decided to resign an year before the end of his term.
"I will not like to spell out the reasons for my resignation as of now, but I will tell you more later," Justice Hegde told rediff.com.
According to sources, he was upset with the manner in which the government had treated some of his reports, including a high-profile report he had prepared on the mining lobby operating in the state.
The Lokayukta had repeatedly sought additional powers to deal with corrupt members of legislative assembly, but was not granted any. It was becoming extremely difficult for him to function, pointed out the sources, as the government had not acted on almost any of his reports.
The delay in the appointment of a deputy Lokayukta had also slowed down work in the office and also made his functioning difficult, said sources.
Justice Hegde was appointed Lokayukta for a term of five years in 2006.
