Former Karnataka Minister Roshan Baig gets bail in IMA case
Bengaluru: A special CBI court here on Saturday granted bail to former Karnataka Minister Roshan Baig in the multi-crore I Monetary Advisory (IMA) investment scam.
CBI arrested Baig on November 22 and had conducted raids at his residence the very next day.
The disqualified Congress MLA from Shivajinagar in the city, after the arrest, was produced before the court, which remanded him in judicial custody for 14 days.
Baig has been asked by the court to cooperate with the investigation and report before CBI officials on the second and fourth Monday of every month, official sources said.
He also has been asked to surrender his passport, inform the court if he changes address, and not to threaten witnesses, they said.
Baig's advocate, while citing his health condition, informed the court that his client has cooperated with the investigation and all the accused in the case have been granted bail, barring the MD and CEO of the IMA Group of companies.
The multi-crore ponzi scheme run by Karnataka-based IMA and its group entities allegedly duped over a lakh of people to the tune of Rs 4,000 crore promising higher returns.
The scam came to light in June last year when the IMA operator Mohammed Mansoor Khan fled the country accusing Baig and some government officers of cheating him.
Khan had alleged that Baig had taken about Rs 400 crore from him, which the latter had rejected outright.
Khan came to India after much persuasion by the police and surrendered.
The then Congress and JD(S) coalition government had formed a special investigation team to probe the matter.
However, the BJP government after coming to power handed over the case to the CBI.
The CBI had named an IAS officer, two IPS officers, a KAS officer, and a corporator among the accused in the case.
The state government gave permission to the Central agency to prosecute them.
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JD(S) wants changes in certain provisions in One Nation-One Election proposal
Bengaluru (PTI): The JD(S) has requested its ally BJP to make changes in certain provisions of the proposed 129th Constitutional Amendment Bill linked to the ONOE proposal, particularly the special powers proposed to be given to the ECI to recommend postponement of elections in any state.
The Parliamentary Joint Committee held discussions with political parties in Bengaluru on Saturday regarding the Constitution Amendment Bill connected to 'One Nation-One Election' and sought their suggestions and opinions.
The JD(S) said suitable amendments had been proposed to the provisions empowering the Election Commission of India to recommend to the President the deferment of state elections, while also seeking legal safeguards for the stability of coalition governments and protection for regional parties during simultaneous elections.
"With regard to the Bill, the JD(S) extended support to the Constitutional amendment with certain conditions and amendments, while suggesting safeguards to ensure that regional parties are not adversely affected by the aggressive election campaigns of national parties during simultaneous elections," the statement said.
The party stated that coalition governments have been formed and functioning at both the state and national levels for several decades in recent years, and "there is a need for legal protection to ensure their stability".
"Therefore, it also suggested incorporating legal safeguards for the stability of coalition governments in the proposed Constitutional amendment," the party, headed by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, said.
The proposed Constitutional amendment grants special powers to the ECI to recommend to the President the postponement of elections in any state. Suitable amendments to these special powers have been proposed, the party said.
"On the above stated subjects, suitable submissions were made to the JPC," the party said in a statement, which has been posted on its 'X' handle.
According to the statement, the JD(S) delegation was led by M Mallesh Babu and included former MP D Kupendra Reddy, former Assembly Deputy Speaker M Krishna Reddy, former minister Venkatrao Nadagouda, MLA T N Javarayi Gowda, former MLA K A Tippeswamy and party legal cell president A P Ranganath.
