Supreme Court stays Karnataka HC order on contempt proceedings against H D Kumaraswamy

The apex court directed that the order of the Karnataka High Court impleading the union minister as accused in a contempt case should be kept in abeyance.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the Karnataka High Court order, which impleaded Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy in a contempt proceedings.

A bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and Prasanna B Varale issued notice to NGO Samaj Parivartan Samudaya on a petition filed by former Karnataka Chief Minister and JD(S) leader.

The court directed that the order of the Karnataka High Court impleading Kumaraswamy as accused in a contempt case should be kept in abeyance.

The court also orally questioned the rationale behind continuing the contempt proceedings, especially in light of the closure of the Lokayukta inquiry.

After hearing submissions, the Court issued notice and sought a response from the NGO within four weeks.

The matter related to a long-standing dispute arising from a complaint filed in 2011 before the Karnataka Lokayukta regarding alleged encroachment in Kethaganahalli Village, Bidadi Hobli, Ramanagara Taluk. 

Kumaraswamy was represented by senior advocate C Aryama Sundaram, along with advocates Balaji Srinivasan, Nishanth A V and Harsha Tripathi.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan appeared on caveat for Samaj Parivartana Samudaya.

In 2020, the NGO filed a writ petition before the Karnataka High Court seeking an inquiry into the alleged encroachment pursuant to the Lokayukta’s order. 

The petition was disposed of by the High Court on January 14, 2020, based on the State’s assurance that it would conduct an inquiry. 

Kumaraswamy, though arrayed as a party, was not issued notice in those proceedings.

Subsequently, the NGO initiated contempt proceedings before the High Court alleging non-compliance with January 14, 2020 order. 

Although Kumaraswamy was initially made a party to the contempt proceedings, he was later deleted from the array of parties by the High Court itself.

On March 3, 2021, the Karnataka Lokayukta formally closed the complaint. 

However, the High Court continued monitoring the matter through the contempt proceedings and directed enforcement of eviction measures. Pursuant to these directions, a notice was issued to Kumaraswamy by the Tahsildar, Ramanagara Taluk, initiating eviction proceedings—prompting him to learn of the pending contempt matter.

Challenging these developments, Kumaraswamy approached the Supreme Court, the court then disposed of the petition, granting liberty to him to appear before the High Court and raise his concerns about being subjected to proceedings without a hearing.

Kumaraswamy filed an application before the High Court, highlighting the sequence of events. Nevertheless, on April 17, 2025, the High Court passed an order arraigning him as accused No. 3 in the contempt proceedings, despite his earlier deletion and lack of notice in the original writ petition. 

This prompted Kumaraswamy to file the instant plea before the Supreme Court, which agreed to examine his plea.