Karnataka Cabinet directs Chief Secretary to provide information to Governor only after its prior approval

In the last couple of months, the Governor has written a series of letters to Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh seeking information/reports from the State government on various matters

Amidst the ongoing tussle between the Karnataka government and the Raj Bhavan, the State Cabinet on Thursday directed the Chief Secretary not to provide any information on any subject to Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot only after its (Cabinet’s) prior approval.

The Cabinet meeting, presided over by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, was held a day after the special court in Bengaluru directed the Lokayukta police in Mysuru to probe alleged illegalities in the allotment of 14 sites to his wife by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA), directed the Chief Secretary to place all information sought by the Governor before the Cabinet. Only after vetting of the information by the Cabinet, the required information would be given to the Raj Bhavan, said Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs H.K. Patil.

In the last couple of months, the Governor has written a series of letters to Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh seeking information/reports from the State government on matters released to the alleged MUDA land scam, report of the Justice H.S. Kempanna Commission on the denotification of 541 acres for the Arkavathi Layout in Bengaluru and information on prosecution cases against government officials in the Lokayukta, among other subjects.

Briefing presspersons on decisions taken at the Cabinet meeting, Mr. Patil said it was not right on the part of the Governor to blame the government for leakage of confidential information relating to the Lokayukta approaching him for consent to prosecute some JD(S) and BJP leaders.

On leaked information

On August 17, 2024, the Governor wrote to the government seeking a report on the leakage of information. In the letter, the Governor said: “I am both curious and perplexed… how did the State government and the Cabinet come to know about the request from the Lokayukta police along with dates of submission to the sanctioning authority and other details. And, how did the Lokayukta police, being an independent body, share confidential material with any person other than the sanctioning authority?”

Mr. Patil said the Director General and Inspector General of Police sought information from the Inspector General of Police (IGP) of the Lokayukta (investigation) about the leaking of documents. In his letter September 4, 2024, IGP at the Lokayukta said the leakage of the confidential information/documents had been pending at the Raj Bhavan for eight months from November 24, 2023, to August 8, 2024. In fact, the Governor kept documents “illegally” for more than eight months, Mr. Patil said.

Published - September 26, 2024 08:39 pm IST