Activists react strongly to K'taka HC's remark 'no file moves without a bribe'

NT Correspondent

 Bengaluru

 The Karnataka High Court refused bail to an assistant engineer of the Bangalore Development Authority, stating that no file moves without a bribe in government offices.

The statement by the high court has received mixed reactions from the citizens. While some citizens say that it is ‘hypocritical’, others say that it was good that the court pointed out corruption in the system.

Suryakant, of Karnataka RTI and Social Activists Forum, said,“No authority has a clean slate in India. The high court bench which said this must also be aware that lawyers and judges take a huge amount of money as bribes. This is hypocritical.

 Another activist , Umapathi S, said, “Rampant corruption in the system is already a well-known fact. If the high court is concerned about corruption, first they should punish everyone who has been convicted of corruption charges. We have seen that many people who have been involved in huge scams get bail.” While some netizens feel differently about it."

 "I am glad the court didn’t grant bail to the engineer. It is good that someone in authority is stating the truth. There have been instances where government officials would ask for bribes from me to get my work done. It is good that the court is taking action against those, said a Bengaluru resident, Souptik.

 In a recent order, Justice K Natarajan made the observations while denying bail to K T Raju, who had allegedly demanded Rs 1 cr for passing a favourable order in a land case.