Gowda’s BMIC letter in Lok Ayukta’s court

Gowda’s BMIC letter in Lok Ayukta’s court
HC Passes Gag Order On Parties; Dismisses PIL On Toll
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bangalore: The decade-old BMIC row took a new turn on Monday with the Karnataka high court asking the Lok Ayukta to inquire into the allegations made by former prime minister Deve Gowda in his letter and the booklet addressed to the judiciary regarding anomalies in the multi-billion-road project.
The division Bench headed by the Chief Justice also passed a gag order asking the parties not to air anything in public either in media or by writing letters to judges about the issue anymore.
“Though embarrassed to receive such a letter about a matter pending before court, we treated it as a PIL to put an end to the whole issue. We don’t allow this court to become a political platform though this letter has given a way for that. Stop politicizing the issue. Nobody is above law. This kind of writing letters to judges and going to press about the issue should stop,” the Bench observed.
Earlier, Surendra Desai, counsel for Gowda, told the court that he would like to file an affidavit to come with more details. “The January 8 letter and the booklet enclosed with it were elaborate. The timing was inappropriate. We have taken conscious decision to treat the letter as PIL — it is a positive decision. We are not an investigative agency and don’t intend to do so either. So we want to place that before an appropriate agency. We don’t believe in any commission or committee probing the matter,” the Bench said.
Opposing the move, NICE counsel Jayakumar S Patil told the court that the decision of the court to treat the letter as PIL has been challenged before the apex court and it is coming up for hearing on February 6. He then requested for 4 weeks time to file objections to the letter.
The court first thought of CoD and then suggestion came from advocate general Udaya Holla and others about Lok Ayukta. After getting consent from government and counsel representing Gowda, the court entrusted the inquiry to Lok Ayukta. The Bench dismissed the PIL filed by a state DSS leader challenging the alignment of 41-km peripheral road and the decision of the state government to permit NICE company to collect toll from vehicles from December.
Not a NICE move...
Writing to the judges (such as the letter written by Deve Gowda) should stop... Issues surrounding the BMIC project should not be politicised. — Justice Dinakaran
I will take up the inquiry as per the high court’s directive. Though my hands are full and our infrastructure is very limited, I will conduct the inquiry in a manner that does not hamper my other responsibilities. — Justice N Santosh Hedge | LOK AYUKTA ‘It’s like a snakes & ladders story’
Bangalore: The division Bench headed by the Chief Justice which continued till evening hearing on the contempt petition related to BMIC project in respect of road alignment over the Gottigere Lake, suggested for an early settlement through arbitration if all parties agree to that.
“It’s because of egoistic attitude that this dispute has drawn so much attention. How many hours of judicial time has it taken? May be over 100 sitting days. We fail to understand this. It is like a snakes and ladders story. We don’t know which is head and which is tail,” the Bench remarked. While the petitioner claimed that there was a 2-km deviation in the alignment, the state said that the road is in the very same alignment. The court asked the petitioner why it took them 10 long years to approach the court in this matter.
V Nagaraj, state co-coordinator of DSS in his PIL, not only challenged the December 18 notification issued by the government permitting the NICE company to collect toll from motorists for using the road but also claimed the road alignment is not as per original framework agreement.
“The 41-km road, which NICE claims as peripheral road, is in fact a BDA road. They cannot claim toll on it. The road should have started from 17 km on Hosur Road,” the petition states.
“But the present road has 2 km deviation and passes through 15 km Hosur Road, Begur, Hammadevanahalli, BM Kaval reserve forest, Chodenapura, Srikantapura and 17 km on Tumkur Road. They have usurped the road belonging to BDA. We couldn’t lay hands on these notifications as government was not forthcoming. All these have been now obtained under RTI,’’ the petitioner has claimed.
Apart from seeking a restraint on collection of toll, the petitioners also sought restricting traffic on the peripheral and link roads.
DEVIATION PIL: There was deviation in the alignment to the tune of 2 km. They have usurped the road belonging to BDA-PIL State: NICE Road is in the very same alignment HC to petitioner: Why did it take 10 years to approach the court?