The Special Lokayukta Court, which began hearing the bail application arguments on Thursday, was surprised when counsels C V Nagesh and Ravi B Naik representing Yeddyurappa, his sons B Y Raghavendra and B Y Vijayendra, and his son-in-law Sohan Kumar, failed to appear before the court.
The two were supposed to begin arguments for the grant of bail to the four accused.
Judge N K Sudhindra Rao said it was the duty of the counsels to keep the court occupied and not waste its time.
Taking strong objection to their absence, Tomy Sebastian, counsel for former Minister S N Krishnaiah Setty, one of the accused, said their absence showed disrespect to the court as they had not bothered to inform the court earlier.
An irate judge said it was not possible to adjourn cases at the convenience of counsels, as other cases were being affected, and that he could not send back witnesses who have come from far-off places.
C H Hanumantharaya, the counsel for private complainant Sirajin Basha, demanded stern steps and said even the High Court was considerate if urgent matters were being heard in the lower court.
As the counsels present refused to begin arguments, the court told them to start the arguments and not waste its time. “Discipline warrants that the court be kept occupied,” the judge said.
While C H Hanumantharaya steadfastly refused to begin his arguments in the bail application, Tomy Sebastian agreed to start the arguments on behalf of his client.
The court is hearing the bail application of all the accused in the private complaints, which include allegations of illegal denotification of land in Rachenahalli.Orders on the bail applications will be given on October 3.
Katta plea adjourned
The High Court on Thursday adjourned the hearing of a criminal revision petition by former minister Katta Subramanya Naidu for a week.
Naidu, in his petition, sought that the proceedings in the case against him be quashed, as he had been booked under false charges. The petition said the Lokayukta Police continued investigations against him, despite the stay by the High Court on the proceedings against him and his son.
He said the registration and investigation of cases against him was with malafide intentions. Citing the Lokayukta Police submission that the file related to land grant to Itasca company was missing and that Katta Jagadish had a role in it, he termed the allegations baseless. Justice V Jagannathan, who heard the matter, adjourned it.
KAT order quashed
The High Court has set aside a Karnataka Administrative Tribunal (KAT) order which had cancelled the recruitment of Hindi teachers based on the degrees awarded by Hindi Shikshana Parangath.
Hearing a petition by K K Ramakrishna and 11 others, following a KAT order in 2006 cancelling their appointments on the grounds that they were not entitled for the jobs as it was not a regular degree, the division bench comprising Justice K L Manjunath and Justice B Manohar quashed the KAT order and directed the State government to continue them in service. The bench, observing that the course was started by the government to promote Hindi language, ruled that the petitioners were entitled to the jobs.
HC adjourns BSY plea
The High Court on Thursday adjourned the hearing of a petition by former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa seeking that the proceedings against him be dropped.
The petitioner, in his submission, said that the respondents Sirajin Basha and Balraj had obtained sanction from the Governor to file one complaint against him, but had filed five complaints. Counsel for the petitioner, Jaikumar S Patil, in his submission said that the special court judge had issued summons without considering this. Justice B S Patil adjourned the matter.
Submit report on UBP
The Special Lokayukta Court has directed the Lokayukta police to submit the report on the Upper Bhadra Project (UBP) on October 4.
The Lokayukta police is investigating irregularities in awarding of contract for works in phase two of the UBP. Former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa is an accused in the private complaint filed by JD(S) leader Y S V Datta.
The complaint stated that though the cost of the project was Rs 500 crore, it was hiked to Rs 1,033 crore by a joint venture company of RNS and Jyothi.
The contract was awarded to RNS-Jyothi, which is blacklisted in Himachal Pradesh, Datta stated. The complaint also states that the government released Rs 130 crore even before work on the project began.
In return, Murudeshwar Company, a subsidiary of RNS group of companies, paid Rs 13 crore to Dhavalagiri Properties and Sahyadri Care and Diagnostics Private Limited, owned by Yeddyurappa’s sons and son-in-law.
Darshan’s case
The High Court on Thursday adjourned the bail application of actor Darshan, who is now in police custody for allegedly assaulting and threatening his wife.
When the matter came up for hearing before Justice B V Pinto, he adjourned it directing the State to file objection to Darshan’s bail plea in the next 14 days.
The First Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court on Wednesday extended Darshan's judicial custody till October 4.
The actor was discharged from Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases, where he was undergoing treatment for asthma and jaundice since September 10, and was taken to Parappana Agrahara Central Jail.
Earlier, the sessions court had rejected Darshan’s bail plea on the grounds that the actor was influential and could bring pressure on his wife Vijayalakshmi and tamper with evidence.