SC closes contempt proceedings against Gowda

The Supreme Court on Monday closed the contempt proceedings against former prime minister H D Deve Gowda and his party JD(S) over alleged non-compliance of the order pertaining to the Race Course Road property in Bengaluru.

A bench of Justices Vikramjit Sen and Abhay Manohar Sapre said that there was no ground to continue with the matter after advocate Prashant Kumar, appearing for Deve Gowda, submitted that they had already vacated the property on February 15 and paid Rs 3.92 lakh as outstanding rent to the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee.

The apex court had, on January 21 last year, dismissed a petition filed by JD(S), challenging a Karnataka High Court verdict which had rejected its claim over the property.

The HC had, in its October, 2013 verdict, held that the office belonged to the Congress party. It had upheld the decree passed by a civil court in this regard in 2005.

The property was donated to the Bangalore City Congress Committee in 1949 by Rangaswamy through a gift deed for the construction of the Congress Bhavan.

The Congress (O), Janata Party, Janata Dal or the JD(S) had never acquired title of the property, but could have their office there in view of splits in the Indian National Congress between 1969 and 1978.
DH News Service