HC strikes down plea seeking squashing of criminal case against CM BS Yediyurappa

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition seeking to quash the criminal complaint registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act against Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa in the illegal land denotification case. The court came down heavily on Lokayukta police for not completing the probe in the past five years.

Mr Yediyurappa is accused of de-notifying parcels of land in Whitefield IT corridor and allotting it to entrepreneurs, during his tenure as the Deputy Chief Minister in the BJP-JD(S) coalition government headed by H.D. Kumaraswamy, between February 2006 and October 2007.

Justice Michael Cunha directed the Lokayukta special court to monitor the investigation ordered by the courts with regard to the misconduct of MPs, MLAs involved in criminal offences.

The case was registered on the direction of Lokayukta Court to Lokayukta police on February 21, 2015, based on a complaint by Vasudeva Reddy, a resident of Bellandur.

The bench pulled up the police for delay in investigation against the CM and opined that, "The circumstances noted above clearly indicate that the delay is intentional and deliberate. Though, at this juncture, it cannot be said that respondent No.1 has succumbed to the pressure of the petitioner, who has been holding the position of the Chief Minister of the State of Karnataka, yet respondent No.1 being an independent and impartial body entrusted with the duty to investigate into the misconduct of the public servants objectively cannot give rise to an impression in the mind of the general public that it is playing into the hands of the political bigwigs."

The judge noted, "I refrain from directing any action against the Lokayukta Police entrusted with the investigation, lest it would prejudice the investigation. However, the laxity in conducting the investigation in the instant case is deprecated and the Lokayukta Court is directed to keep a watch over the investigation ordered by the Criminal Courts in respect of the misconduct of public servants and MPs and MLAs involved in the commission of criminal offences. In the light of the above discussion and for the reasons stated above, the petition is dismissed."