Shettar appears in Lokayukta court
Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Jagadish Shettar appeared in the Special Lokayukta Court on Monday, following issuance of summons in the case involving KGF MLA Y Sampangi.
The BJP legislator was trapped by the Lokayukta police in January 2009 for accepting a bribe of Rs 5 lakh from a businessman H M Farooq at the Legislator’s Home. A complaint against Sampangi had been registered by Farooq following which the Lokayukta trapped the MLA. He was later booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Shettar, in his capacity as Speaker of the Assembly, had accorded permission for prosecution of Sampangi in August 2009. Shettar sought time from the court to present evidence, stating he had to access the records of according permission for Sampangi’s prosecution from the Speaker’s office.
Shettar submitted that he had sought the Advocate General’s opinion before he gave permission, but as he was no longer the Speaker and had no access to the records, he needed time to get them. Acceding to the request, Judge N K Sudhindra Rao posted the matter to February 2 for further hearing.
