Legislators from the ruling Congress have submitted a petition in the Assembly to remove Upalokayukta Justice Adi, on charges of overstepping jurisdiction. Meanwhile a group of citizens have written to the Chief Minister opposing the move. The Assembly also admitted a motion to impeach Lokayukta Bhaskar Rao.

Upalokayukta Justice Adi addressing the press at Kaikondrahalli lake that he visited in 2013.

Respected Chief Minister Shri Siddharamaiah,

We, the citizens of Bangalore request your kind attention and intervention in the case related to the motion initiated in the State Assembly to remove Upa Lokayukta Justice Subhash B Adi.

The Lokayukta is an institution that aims to uphold law and justice. To us citizens, Justice Adi has been the epitome of all that is best in this institution. Never has he brushed aside any genuine concerns that we brought to his notice. Neither has he supported our causes unduly.  He has always sought to view every issue through the legal lens. Every case has been addressed with due diligence and objectivity, staying true to the letter of the law. 

If the government were to remove such an officer from his post, it would be a gross miscarriage of justice and will weaken this great institution and the tenets on which it was founded. The allegations brought to bear against Justice Adi do not justify the kind of action that is being initiated against him. Investigate the allegations against him by all means, but please ensure that it is not done out of personal vendetta or to further party politics.

We would like to cite several cases where Justice Adi has helped citizens in their efforts towards public welfare and betterment of the city.

From the Ibblur Lake Team

Citizens living near Ibblur lake had been petitioning for long against encroachments that came up in the lake area. Some of the parties were even trying to create fencing inwards to usurp the land. Thanks to the intervention of Justice Adi, the Bengaluru Urban Revenue department officials intervened, notices were issued to the encroachers, the same were heard and disposed in the High Court of Karnataka, which paved the way for the demolition of the unauthorised structures in 2014. That in turn has created a deterrent against other parties trying to annex public land. 

From the Save Varthur Lake Team

Upalokayukta Justice Subhash Adi has been a saviour for citizens and for protecting public assets. He has been proactive in preventing potential avenues for corruption. He responds to citizen complaints promptly and diligently. He works with the government in ensuring the problems are solved in a practical manner rather than passing orders which are not implementable. With so many parastate agencies working in silos, it may not be an exaggeration if we say that the only coordination that happens is when the officials from the different agencies are called for the hearings. When the citizens’ demands are unreasonable, the judge is forthright in setting expectations realistic. For us citizens, his hearings have been quite educational on how the governance process works as well. When the officials are stuck due to legal issues, the judge helps them with the appropriate legal approach to get over the hurdle. The judge’s rulings are fair and timely. 

From the Puttenahalli Lake team

Hon’ble Justice Adi was able to do what no one else could, neither any government official nor any politician, with regard to relocating the slum from the Puttenahalli Lake bund. With this, he boosted our morale as the lake custodians. 

From the Forum for Sustainable South Bangalore

The citizens of Koramangala have had the opportunity to interact with Justice Adi on several occasions.  I have participated in many of these interactions including on a mixed use SEZ project located on the wetlands leading to Bellandur lake where citizen groups had complained about the rampant abuse of due process by the builders concerned. Justice Adi was scrupulously fair and balanced in his approach to the issue. He allowed all parties to the issue to put forward their side of the argument in an unbiased and even-handed manner.

On another occasion, a group of Koramangala Residents approached the Upalokayukta in connection with an illegal building being constructed by a Ward-level BBMP official. Justice Adi’s intervention in that matter provided great relief to the citizens of the area.

From the Kaikondrahalli Lake team

On numerous occasions, we have taken up issues with Justice Adi as it relates to the lake chain that Kaikondarahalli lake belongs to.  He has always diligently engaged with citizens and officials to follow the rule of law while helping officials navigate the complex inter-departmental protocols.  Without his help, a lot of what has been preserved today would not have been so.

Hope that this gives you a sense of the overwhelming support and goodwill that Justice Adi commands among the citizenry, thanks to his years of work. 

The Chief Minister’s office should be interested in strengthening the Institution of the Lokayukta and not demeaning it to serve narrow agendas. We hope that higher justice will prevail and that you will protect the reputation of one of our finer officers.

Undersigned,

Concerned Citizens of Bengaluru

Priya Ramasubban, Mukund Kumar, Nitin Seshadri, Usha Rajagopalan, Nupur Jain, Prof KS Bhat, Balasubramanian T, Dr Surendra  Kulkarni and many others.