The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Author’s demand has no merit, says panel

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Tuesday, Jun 30, 2009
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Author’s demand has no merit, says panel

Special Correspondent

Commission says preliminary hearing is to be held in Hyderabad

Bangalore: Justice B.K. Somashekhara, who is heading the commission of inquiry on church attacks in Karnataka, on Monday ruled that the demand of the author of the controversial book “Satyadarshini”, Paravastu Suryanarayana Rao, to be cross-examined in Hyderabad or any other place in Andhra Pradesh “has no merit”.

However, he said that the commission would “wait for reasonable time” before summoning him to Bangalore and preliminary examination could be done at Hyderabad taking into account his health condition.

The author, whose book is said to contain derogatory references to Hindu gods, had requested the commission for change in venue of inquiry citing bad health and threat to his security as reasons.

Reimbursement

Justice Somashekhara said that advances in medical care and modes of travel gave no grounds for apprehension. He added that the commission could reimburse expenses the author’s expenses. On Mr. Rao’s security concerns, Justice Somashekhara said that “dragging the name of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka in the context is a total blasphemy in political religion and great impropriety”.

The commission endorsed Government advocate L.N. Hegde’s view that the Government of Karnataka “has been one of the best and always concerned about the best security provisions all the time”.

Providing an elaborate account of the money involved in cross examining a witness outside the State, Justice Somashekhara said that it would cost over Rs. 2 lakh, while the total expense if Mr. Rao came to Bangalore would add up to only Rs. 60,000.

Financial implications

Witnesses from Davangere, where church attacks had taken place in September 2008, were cross-examined by the commission later.

Savitramma and Kausalya, belonging to one family, submitted that Christian missionaries were indulging in conversions through inducements and force.

Advocate Byatha N. Jagadeesh asked if there had been trouble over finances between them and Shantha Kumar, the Christian missionary accused by them of attempting conversion. Both admitted that there was a history of financial dealings between them.

‘Warned’

Ms. Savitramma also admitted that they had been “warned” by the Tahsildar not to create trouble over financial matters. They denied giving “financial quarrel a religious colour”. Manjunatha, another witness from Davangere, submitted that 25 per cent of Lambanis had been “converted by allurements”. When asked by Rupert Rozario what the Lambanis’ population was and how many had been converted, he said that of the 25 lakh Lambanis, about five to six lakh had been converted to Christianity.

Conversions

Earlier, raising a question before the panel of advocates, Justice Somashekhara asked whether debates in various public fora on the issue of conversion, by people such as writer M. Chidanandamurthy, could be deemed to be influencing the proceedings of the court.

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