A serious case of administrative negligence from Hospet has triggered action from the Upa Lokayukta after a woman who is very much alive was wrongly declared dead in official records, cutting her off from essential government benefits.
Justice B Veerappa took suo motu cognisance of the issue based on a media report published on April 1. The case involves N Hampamma, a resident of Dharmasagar village in Hospet taluk of Vijayanagara district.
Hampamma, wife of N Thimmareddy, has been forced to prove that she is alive after officials in Hospet marked her as dead in government records. The error appears to have occurred after another woman with a similar name from the same village passed away in 2024. Without proper verification, officials recorded Hampamma as deceased.
The impact in Hospet was immediate and severe. With her name listed as dead, Hampamma was cut off from multiple government schemes and benefits. What followed was a frustrating struggle where she had to repeatedly approach authorities just to establish a basic fact that she is alive.
Despite submitting several representations to officials in Hospet, requesting correction of her Aadhaar details and restoration of benefits, no action was taken. Her pleas were ignored, exposing a breakdown in administrative responsibility.
Taking the matter seriously, Justice Veerappa has registered a case against key officials in Hospet, including the tahsildar, the executive officer of the taluk panchayat, and the panchayat development officer of Byluvaddigeri gram panchayat. All of them have been directed to appear in person on May 20, 2026, and submit their explanations.
The Lokayukta has treated the Hospet incident as maladministration and dereliction of duty under the Karnataka Lokayukta Act, along with violations of constitutional rights under Articles 14, 21 and 300A.
An immediate direction has been issued to the tahsildar of Hospet to rectify the Aadhaar records and ensure that Hampamma’s benefits are restored without delay. A copy of the order has also been sent to the district in-charge minister for further action.
The Hospet case highlights a deeper issue. A simple error, left unchecked, forced a living person to fight the system just to prove her existence. It raises serious questions about accountability and verification in public administration.