Karnataka HC dismisses Yeddyurappa's petition

In yet another setback for Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, the high court gave a green signal to the Lokayukta court to go ahead with the proceedings against him in an alleged land scam. Yeddyurappa is accused of denotifying land, allotting them to family members.

The high court while dismissing a petition that sought quashing of proceedings against the CM stated that there was no discrepancy in the order of the Lokayukta court.

The petitioner had moved the court after Governor HR Bhardwaj had accorded sanction to prosecute the CM. The court had stayed proceedings against the CM when the matter had come up for hearing the first time.

The high court on Thursday upheld Governor H R Bhardwaj's sanction to prosecute Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and his family members on five private complaints over alleged land scams, holding that it was the "precincts of law".

In his 200-page common order, Justice K N Keshavanarayana dismissed all five petitions filed by Yeddyurappa's son-in-law Sohan Kumar, sons B Y Raghavendra, a Lok Sabha member, and B Y Vijayendra, Dhavalagiri Developers, a firm run by them, and beneficiary Akka Mahadevi, challenging the lower court order taking cognisance of the complaints.

The complaints were filed by two city-based advocates

Sirajin Basha and K N Balaraj after the governor accorded sanction for prosecution of the chief minister and others.

The judge observed the complaints were all right and in "accordance with law" and did not suffer from any "legal infirmity or lacunae".

Further, upholding the sanction for prosecution accorded by the governor, Justice Keshavanarayana stated that it was very much "maintainable" and within the precincts of law.

Quoting the Supreme Court judgement in the Vineet Narayan case, the judge said the verdict cited seven principles, including probity in public life, running a government efficiently and in an exemplary manner, which needed to be adhered to by all public servants (including the chief minister) for a healthy society.

With inputs from PTI