Bengaluru: HC upholds cognizance order against Yediyurappa in POCSO case
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has upheld the trial court’s decision to take cognizance and issue summons in the sexual assault case filed against former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa. The ruling comes as a major setback for Yediyurappa, as he will now have to face trial in the case involving allegations of sexual assault on a minor girl.
Justice M. I. Arun of the single-judge bench delivered the verdict on Thursday after completing the hearing on petitions filed by Yediyurappa and co-accused M. Arun, M. Rudresh, and G. Mariswamy. They had challenged the trial court’s order which had recently taken cognizance of the case.
The High Court upheld the trial court’s order to proceed with the case and to issue summons to the accused. However, it clarified that Yediyurappa should not be compelled to appear in court unnecessarily during the proceedings. If his presence is not required, the trial court should consider and allow any request for exemption from personal appearance, the order stated.
The High Court further observed that the trial court must independently evaluate the evidence before it, without being influenced by any observations made in its order. It also said the petitioners are free to file any applications before the trial court, including for discharge from the case. The detailed judgment copy is yet to be made available.
The case dates back to March 2024, when a complaint was filed against Yediyurappa at the Sadashivanagar Police Station. He was accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl at his residence in Bengaluru’s Dollars Colony. The complaint was filed by the victim’s mother.
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Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said.
A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said.
Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.
Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.
Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.
Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.
Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.
The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.
According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet.
"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.
