Lion of Lokayukta no more
On Wednesday morning, he awoke at 6 am as usual, and accidentally fell down in his house.
Bengaluru: Thousands of people gathered to pay their respects to former Lokayukta, Justice Venkatachala. The body was brought from M.S. Ramaiah Hospital, where he was declared dead on Wednesday morning, and placed at his residence on Lower Orchard Road in Sadashivanagar, near Cauvery theatre. Several VVIPs from the state also stopped by to pay their last respects.
Sources in the family said that the decision regarding the final rites will be taken after Justice Venkatachala's son and daughter arrive from the U.S. It is said that the final rites may be held at the home of his grandson, Varun.
On Wednesday morning, he awoke at 6 am as usual, and accidentally fell down in his house. He was rushed to M.S. Ramaiah Memorial Hospital for treatment. A statement from the hospital said the former Lokayukta had been brought "in an unresponsive state." Various rescuscitative measures were taken and after he failed to respond, was declared dead at 7 am. It is believed that the cause of death was a cardiac arrest.
Justice Venkatachala was born on July 3, 1930, into an agrarian family in Mittur village of Mulabagal taluk, in the heart of drought-hit Kolar. He did his B.Sc and obtained a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Mysore. He went on to serve as a lawyer, then as a judge in the High Court and Supreme Court, before he was appointed as Lokayukta on July 3, 2001, by the then S.M. Krishna-led Congress government.
Today, the Lokayukta is a shell of what it once was, but under his fiery rule, the anti-corruption institution roared like a dragon, with wrongdoers trembling before it Justice Venkatachala soon became a household name in Karnataka, leading from the front as the Lokayukta conducted a relentless tirade against corrupt officials, bureaucrats and politicians. For the very first time, the people of Karnataka became alive to the possibility that the corrupt could be brought to book - they were stunned, for they had come to accept the rot in the system as the norm.
Raids were conducted on government offices, hospitals and even police stations, much to the chagrin of the ruling classes. It resulted in a phenomenal rise in the number of cases against corrupt officials.
The incumbent Lokayukta, Justice Vishwanath Shetty, says, "He may not be with us today but the work he did, both as a judge and as Lokayukta, will always remain in public memory. His approach was marked by compassion, he would threaten to take action and in the process, address the grievances of the public," Lokayukta Shetty told Deccan Chronicle. "His message to society was clear - those who do good will find that their legacy lives on always, even when the person himself is no longer physically present with us."
Justice Venkatachala is survived by his wife Anushriya, sons Sheshachala and Vedachala, both senior lawyers, Arjunachala, a software professional and one daughter, Dr Arunachala.
He put compassion first: Lokayukta Vishwanath Shetty
“Justice Venkata—chala lived a good, clean life and I was very attached to him, having known him since the time I started out as a junior member of the law. I first appeared before him when I was a lawyer and he was always forthcoming, sharing with me his views and his thought process,” recalls Lokayukta Vishwanath Shetty, whose association with the late Justice Venkatachala goes back a long way and would define his own approach to working with the law.
“He would guide me on how to be a responsible member of society, on how acting with compassion is the most important thing. Even when it came to court proceedings, he would attempt to bring about a settlement between the two parties first.”
For one year, Lokayukta Shetty would visit the offices of Justice Venkatachala’s offices, back when he was a lawyer himself, to learn the work of the trial courts.
He remembers how Justice Venkatachala, as the High Court Judge, had convinced him to save a mortgaged property by compelling the bank to reach a settlement. “After meeting me outside, he said I had done a good job by talking to the Chairman of the bank. He said, ‘this is how a lawyer should do his job. A lawyer’s work is not to ruin or destroy the opposing side’. This was always his outlook and it continued even during his tenure as Lokayukta between 2001 and 2006.”
‘Under his tenure, people realised that corrupt could be taken to task’
S.R. Hiremath, an environmental and anti-corruption activist, is best known for his tireless fight against the state's illegal mining mafia. He recalls Justice Venkatachala's tenure as Lokayukta, calling him the first "very active" Lokayukta. "It was during his tenure that people first realised there was an institution of this nature and that corrupt people could actually be taken to task," he says.
"He must get credit for making the Lokayukta so popular. Under him, in-depth and systematic investigations were conducted. Justice Santosh Hegde, who took charge after, took the Lokayukta to even greater heights, with his investigation of the illegal mining case."
It was Justice Venkatachala, says Hiremath, who laid the foundation for the institution that people could approach with confidence when they came up against corruption.
‘He paved the way in fight against corruption’
The demise of former Lokayukta, Justice N Venkatachala is a great loss to the state. A lot of people gave credit to Justice Santosh Hegde, who, in his role as Lokayukta, fought the illegal mining mafia and stood ruthlessly against corruption. However, the man who laid the foundations of this institution, who first brought it respect in the eyes of the public, is Justice Venkatachala.
For me, like T.N. Seshan brought credit and respect to the Election Commission of India, Justice Venkatachala is the man who showed the way in terms of how the Lokayukta can perform and function.
For the first time in the country, he proved that a neutral and unbiased ombudsman can go after the most powerful people in the nation. This was unheard of at the time.
It is very sad and unfortunate that he did not get the amount of importance and recognition through his life for what he did. He is one of those under-rated people because he was at his peak at a time when there was no powerful electronic and social media. It is also unfortunate that his is a rare and dying breed.
It is very tough to work in an unbiased manner in such an institution. Yes, Justice Santosh Hegde, my dear friend, took the institution to the next level but the basic foundation of Lokayukta across the country was laid down by Justice Venkatachala.
He had the courage to actually give the institution the respect it deserved and showed the people what one honest man can do for his country. He was instrumental in bringing name, fame and respect to the institution and he can rightly be called father of Lokayukta.
Although I had limited interaction with him, he believed that corruption is the basic root cause of a lot of social problem in our country. Where there is a will, fearlessness.
I am hoping that as a mark of respect, the present BJP government which was against the scrapping of Lokayukta and harping on Lokayukta reinstitution of Lokayukta will walk the talk.
The ACB being brought in to replace the Lokayukta is a mockery of the fight against corruption. I am firmly opposed to the dismantling of Lokayukta.
— Prithvi Reddy, India Against Corruption - Team Anna. (As told to Chandrashekar G.)