The Supreme Court on Tuesday imposed Rs 15,000 as costs on a Bengaluru resident for failing to respond to a petition by former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa against the sanction given by the then Governor for his prosecution in a land denotification case.
A bench of Justices T S Thakur and R Banumathi pulled up the counsel, who appeared for complainant Sirajin Basha, for seeking further time to file an affidavit in the case.
“Despite opportunities granted for the purpose, (the) respondent has not filed his counter-affidavit. A prayer for grant of further time to do the same is made on his behalf. Six weeks’ further time is granted to the respondent subject to payment of Rs 15,000 as costs to be deposited in the Supreme Court Advocates’ Welfare Trust,” the bench said. The court gave the counsel for Yeddyurappa four weeks to file a rejoinder, if any, and posted the matter for further consideration after 10 weeks. It noted that Basha had been granted sufficient time to respond to the BJP leader’s special leave petition.
Yeddyurappa has challenged a ruling given by the Karnataka High Court on November 29, 2013, dismissing his petitions against the summons issued by the Lokayukta special court on February 23, 2012.
Basha had filed a complaint against Yeddyurappa, who was then chief minister, accusing him of illegal gratification in denotification of land. He also obtained a sanction from then Governor H R Bhardwaj on January 21, 2011, for prosecution of Yeddyurappa.
In the Supreme Court, Yeddyurappa raised a question whether a special court is empowered to entertain a private complaint in a corruption case even though there is a mechanism under the Lokayukta Act to deal with such charges against public servants.
The Supreme Court admitted his petition for consideration but said that pendency of these special leave petitions shall not prevent the trial court from proceeding further in the matter. But it added that the proceedings would be subject to the outcome of these petitions.
Published 03 November 2015, 19:56 IST