Krishna moves HC against Lokayukta court order

External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Friday moved the Karnataka High Court against the order of the Lokayukta court, which directed the police to investigate the illegal mining case against him.

The Lokayukta police had on Thursday filed an FIR against Krishna, Dharam Singh and H D Kumaraswamy.

A private complaint had been filed seeking a directive to probe charges of facilitating companies, which led to illegal mining in the state.

It was alleged that the three persons during their tenure as chief ministers of Karnataka had shown favour to some companies and de-reserved forests to facilitate illegal mining as a result of which a loss to the state exchequer.

The matter is expected to be listed on Monday for hearing.

Later in the day, Krishna told mediapersons on arrival at the Bengaluru international airport that it would not be right for him to speak about the issue as it is pending before the court.

When asked by the media to react on the FIR filed against him, he said that he has now moved the high court.

"The matter will come up soon for hearing. My lawyers are working on the case and since it is before the court, it would not be right for me to comment on the subject," he said.

Meanwhile, his legal team is finalising the case and are hopeful of an early hearing. While the petition has been filed before the registry and numbered, no date of hearing has been assigned as yet.