BENGALURU: In a significant U-turn, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Kagodu Thimmappa, on Saturday said he was still verifying documents to back charges levelled against Upa Lokayukta Justice Subhash Adi. Mr Thimmappa changed his stand days after he told the media that he was “satisfied” with documents provided as evidence by ruling party legislators who moved a motion for ouster of Justice Adi and would forward the motion to the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court.
The Speaker told Deccan Chronicle: “I am not an investigating agency. My role is limited to verification of documents before taking further course of action. Still, I am looking for some more documents to see whether they corroborate the motion. Suspicion still lingers that needs to be addressed through proper verification of documents. I am planning to forward the proposal to the CJ in next one week.”
On the status of the motion, he said it was only moved. He was of the opinion that it would be deemed as admitted once it was forwarded to the chief justice. Such confusion was the result of some rules.
Instructions were given to the staff of Legislative Assembly to make necessary corrections in the proceedings in an effort to end the confusion. The motion would be construed as 'admitted' only after sending the proposal to the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court, he added. The Speaker admitted the delay in forwarding the proposal saying Justice Adi had moved the high court on the issue of the motion moved in the Legislative Assembly. Mr Thimmappa said as the motion now belonged to the House, members could access it. The officer concerned was asked to give a copy of the motion to any MLA for perusal.
The motion seeking removal of Justice Adi had become the bone of contention between legislators of ruling and opposition parties. While Congress legislators demanded removal of Justice Adi, those of BJP termed it as “political vendetta” to embarrass the Upa Lokayukta. Mr V S Ugrappa, MLC, had accused the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders in particular leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Mr Jagadish Shettar, of trying to “shield” Justice Adi.
