Senior lawyers practicing at Karnataka High Court Bar have come out in support of sitting Karnataka HC judge Kl Manjunath, whose transfer as Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court was questioned by the Centre over alleged reports of judicial corruption against him.
About 30 lawyers in a signed representation to the Chief Justice of India said that the allegations leveled against Justice Manjunath were false and frivolous, based on a sensational magazine “Crime” which put out unverified news as facts in order to malign the judge’s image.
Rebutting each charge leveled against the judge, the representation brought out the truth by suggesting that the judge did not own any choultries nor did he own the Kumara Building, a prime commercial building in the heart of Bangalore. The magazine reported that his son owned a bungalow in Delhi and drove a luxury sedan. On enquiry, the lawyers’ body found out that the judge’s son is a practicing lawyer of Supreme Court who resides in a rented accommodation and drives a Maruti Swift car.
The allegations were found baseless also with regard to the judge possessing many flats which later emerged to have been the properties purchased during the time he had a successful practice as a lawyer. It is interesting, the representation said, that allegations were leveled not by Bangalore Bar, but by certain quarters of judiciary and a section of lawyers with roots in Tamil Nadu. Just two weeks back, Supreme Court had dismissed a PIl by a TN lawyer questioning Justice Manjunath’s transfer to Punjab and Haryana HC.