POCSO case: Special court summons ex-Karnataka CM B S Yediyurappa

Bengaluru: A special court for cases involving legislators on Friday issued summons to former chief minister B S Yediyurappa, returnable by March 15, 2025, after taking fresh cognizance of the chargesheet filed by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) under the provisions of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

This was pursuant to the orders of the High Court while disposing of the petitions filed by Yediyurappa, challenging the manner in which the cognizance was taken.

The chargesheet filed by the CID stated that former chief minister Yediyurappa had sexually harassed the 17-year-old daughter of the complainant woman on February 2, 2024. The incident had happened at Yediyurappa’s house when the complainant and her daughter had gone to seek help in another case. The CID police had filed the chargesheet against Yediyurappa under IPC sections 354A, 204, 214 and section 8 of the POCSO Act.

The complainant woman died of cancer on May 26, 2024.

The High Court had set aside the July 4, 2024 order of the special court taking cognizance of the CID chargesheet. The High Court stated that the order of taking cognizance should bear application of mind.

“..and application of mind in an order is discernible, only if reasons are recorded in writing, failing which, the order would depict an inscrutable face of the sphinx”, the High Court had said, keeping the investigation and the final report, all remain intact.