’I am hopeful that justice will be done’

Despite ousted CM Yeddyurappa filing a Writ Petition before the HC seeking to quash the Lokayukta's mining report on grounds of inconsistencies, Hegde is confident that justice will be served

'I am hopeful that justice will be done'

Despite ousted CM Yeddyurappa filing a Writ Petition before the HC seeking to quash the Lokayukta's mining report on grounds of inconsistencies, Hegde is confident that justice will be served
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Justice Santosh Hegde was swarmed by well-wishers on his last day at office yesterday, but he was gracious enoughu00a0 to accept MiD DAY's request for an exclusive interview. He recalled the tedious process of preparing the report amidst threats and skepticism and claimed more drama will unfold in the days to come.

With the mining report now delivered and Yeddyurappa having quit, do you think the government would tackle the report well with you ending your regime now?
I have worked with the incoming Lokayukta Shivraj Patil as an advocate in my initial days and served under him while he was judge. He later joined the Supreme Court where I worked with him. I have full faith and confidence in him as he is a competent man. I am hopeful that justice will be done to the report we have spent months to prepare.

The phone-tapping incident created a furor and with no investigations being made in the case right now, do you think the machinery might be misused in the future?
A lot of mining related issues came to the forefront with the Mining Report. The phone tapping case was one such case and these issues will disappear with the report itself.

What are the measures you suggest the government should take to recover resources, which was lost in the mining racket?
Without recovery the whole exercise would become futile. The right procedure needs to be followed now. Under the Revenue Recovery Act, recovering the lost money would be easier. The assessment should be made based on facts like the transport permits issued. This is how we would be able to figure out how much excess mining was done. I would suggest that the government now appoints a new committee to take the case forward.

The chief secretary claims to have written a letter to you seeking clarification on the Mining Report. Have you responded to it?
He must have written a letter but I am yet to receive it. I would like to reiterate the point that everything mentioned in the report is based on solid facts. Now the incoming Lokayukta would have to take a call on the letter, if they receive it.

Yeddyurappa's political secretary Puttaswamy has claimed that he has sent you a requisition to drop all charges against him. How true is this?
He has sent us an application asking us to reconsider the charges made against B S Yeddyurappa. But I have had no time to reply to it. The decision on the application would also have to be taken by the incoming Lokayukta.

We have heard that you would be writing a book, what does the future hold for you from here on?
(Laughs) I have received many requests from people to pen down my biography. However, I am not really good at writing books, but I might pass on the facts and anecdotes from my life to a capable writer sometime in the future and maybe bring out my biography. For now, I do not want to make any plans.

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