K'taka HC quashes proceedings against Kumaraswamy

In a relief for former Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, the   high court has quashed proceedings initiated against him in connection with two cases. The cases against Kumaraswamy and his wife Anita, also a Janata Dal -Secular member of Legislative Assembly, relate to renewal of mining lease to the Jantakal Mining Firm in violation of norms and alleged irregularities in allotment of sites to Vishwabharathi Housing Cooperative Society

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on the complainant Vinod Kumar, who is a Bharatiya Janata Party worker. While passing the order, the court observed that the complaint was politically motivated and has been filed with a political vendetta.

Passing the order, Justice V Jagannathan said that the cognisance taken by the Lokayukta court against Kumaraswamy and his wife was without prior sanction under Section 197 of the CrPC. He said that this was mandatory under law and since the procedure was not followed the complaint could not be sustained.
In addition, many of the copies submitted by the complainant are not certified, the judge noted, and expressed the view that the special Lokayukta court had not applied its mind with regard to material placed before it.

Justice Jagannathan held that the bulk allotments were in tune with court orders, and observed that the complainant himself has admitted that Anita was a member of that society much before the bulk allotment was made. Reacting to the high court order, an elated Kumaraswamy, a Lok Sabha member and JD-S state unit president, termed it "a victory of truth and dharma".

Kumaraswamy alleged that his fight against "certain illegalities" committed by the BJP government landed him into "this situation" and there were attempts by some to tarnish his image.

With inputs from PTI