Denotification: HC refuses to stay case against BSY

The High Court on Thursday refused to stay the Lokayukta proceedings against former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa in connection with a private complaint on denotification of land at Halagevaderahalli and other places.

Hearing a petition by the former Chief Minister, Justice A N Venugopala Gowda refused to stay the proceedings saying that he will not issue any interim order in this regard. “I cannot violate the Supreme Court judgement. There will not be any interim order,” the Judge observed.

The counsel for Lokayukta submitted that the institution had registered the complaint based on the CAG report as well as the CID report and that it had followed the due process of law.

Yeddyurappa contended that the FIR had not been filed as per Section 12 of the Lokayukta Act, under which a compliance report has to be placed before the Governor seeking his consent for prosecution. Only after the Governor gives his consent, an FIR can be filed.

He also submitted that complaints and subsequent FIRs filed by the Lokayukta is based on the CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) report, and not on the PAC (Public Accounts Committee) report, which is normally placed before the floor of the House (Assembly) to decide on the matter.

In the CAG report, the petition states, the land has been denotified but has not said that it is illegal. Moreover, the CAG had to file details of denotified land from 1995 but they have filed report from 2007-2011 only.

It could be recalled that social activist Jayakumar S Hiremath had filed a private complaint against Yeddyurappa stating that the then chief minister had denotified the land at survey numbers 251 in Halagevaderahalli in Bengaluru South, 5/1 and 6/3 in Bilekahalli and 117 in JB Kaval illegally.