Karnataka CM Yediyurappa suffers court setback in corruption case; Congress demands action

In another setback for Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa, a special court rejected a closure report filed by the Lokayukta in a corruption case against him. Ruling on Saturday that the probe was only perfunctory, Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge Shridhar Gopalakrishna Bhat directed the Deputy SP attached to the police wing of the Lokayukta to investigate the matter further. Moreover, the judge asked the investigative officer to keep in mind the observations of the Karnataka High Court pertaining to the delay in conducting a probe. 

On January 18, the Lokayukta police had reported to the special court that  “no offence” under the Prevention of Corruption Act had been committed by Yediyurappa. Commenting on this development, the Congress party called upon the Chief Minister to resign for ensuring that a fair probe into the alleged corruption scandal takes place. Seeking action from the BJP top brass, Congress communications in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala asserted that this is the litmus test for PM Modi's famous slogan 'Na Khaunga, Na Khane Doonga' ((neither will I indulge in corruption, nor allow anyone else to indulge in it),

The corruption case against BS Yediyurappa

As per a private complaint, BS Yediyurappa allegedly denotified a parcel of government-acquired land and allocated it to entrepreneurs in his capacity as the Deputy Chief Minister in 2006. While the case was taken by the Lokayukta in February 2015, Yediyurappa moved the Karnataka HC in 2019 with the plea that the case against one of the other accused persons- Congress leader RV Deshpande was quashed by the court on October 9, 2015. Though the HC stayed the proceedings against the BJP leader in April 2019, it ruled on December 22 that the case cannot be quashed. 

Rejecting the comparison with Deshpande's case, Justice Cunha observed that the allegations against the Karnataka CM are distinct. He noted that the allegation prima facie discloses a cognizable offence that needs to be investigated. At the same time, the court added that it would not be right to give a prima facie decision in this case when the facts are incomplete and the evidence has not been presented before the court. The single-judge bench also pulled up the Lokayukta for not completing the investigation between 2015 and 2019, when there was no stay.