Relief for Karnataka CM in graft case
Bengaluru, Aug 27 : A special court on Monday discharged Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy from a graft case in which he was alleged to have freed government land in the city suburb for monetary benefit.
"Special Lokayukta (ombudsman) court judge D.B. Patil has allowed withdrawing Kumaraswamy's name from the case in which he was accused of taking bribe to de-notify 3.8-acre land acquired by the state-run BDA to form the Arkavathy residential layout in the city," chief minister's counsel Hasmath Pasha said.
Of the four co-accused in the case -- retired IAS officer K. Jothiramalingam and two officials Sriram and Raviprakash -- were also discharged on the lack of evidence.
The case pertains to freeing the land from the state control when Kumaraswamy was the chief minister of the then Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S)-BJP coalition government in 2006-07.
Barring the fourth co-accused -- former minister C. Chennigappa -- the three co-accused and Kumaraswamy had filed a discharge application in the anti-graft court here. Chennigappa did not file the application.
"The petitioner (Mahadevswamy) did not seek the government's permission to file the graft case against Kumaraswamy who was the chief minister and a legislator then," recalled Pasha.
The judge also noted that the case was filed in 2011, four years after the land was freed from the government in 2007 and the complainant failed to prove the irregularity charge, causing revenue loss to the government.
Kumaraswamy heads the JD-S-Congress coalition government in the state.
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Adani, nephew not charged under US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: Adani Green
New Delhi: Billionaire Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani have not been charged with any violations of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in the indictment filed by US authorities in a court in a bribery case, the Adani Group said on Wednesday.
Gautam Adani, founder chairman of the ports-to-energy conglomerate, Sagar Adani and another key executive, Vneet Jaain, have been charged by the US Department of Justice with being part of an alleged scheme to pay USD 265 million in bribes to Indian officials to win contracts for supply of solar electricity that would yield USD 2 billion profit over a 20-year period.
In a stock exchange filing, Adani Green Energy Ltd, which is at the centre of the bribery allegations, said reports claiming that the three have been charged with FCPA violations "are incorrect".
They have been charged with offences that are punishable with a monetary fine or penalty.
"Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Vneet Jaain have not been charged with any violation of the FCPA in the counts set forth in the indictment of the US DOJ or civil complaint of the US SEC.
"These directors have been charged on three counts in the criminal indictment, namely (i) alleged securities fraud conspiracy, (ii) alleged wire fraud conspiracy, and (iii) alleged securities fraud," the filing said.
The Adani Group has denied all allegations and said it will take all possible legal recourse to defend itself.
A criminal indictment has been filed before the United States District Court Eastern District of New York by the Department of Justice in the case of USA against Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani and Vneet Jaain.
"The indictment does not specify any quantum of any fine/penalty," the company said.
The civil complaint alleges that the executives violated certain sections of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Act of 1934, and aided and abetted Adani Green Energy Limited's violation of the Acts, it said.
"Although the complaint prays for an order directing the defendants to pay civil monetary penalties, it does not quantify the amount of penalty," it said.
