HC quashes case against CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar for COVID-19 rule violation
Bengaluru, June 16: The High Court of Karnataka on Friday quashed a case against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar in relation to violation of Covid-19 restrictions, during the Mekedatu Padayatra in January 2022, when they were in opposition.
The case against the two Congress leaders and several others was filed under the Karnataka Epidemic Diseases Act and the IPC, which was challenged before the HC.
Justice M Nagaprasanna noted that the state government had not issued any notification under the Karnataka Epidemic Diseases Act barring padayatra and such activities.
The HC also quashed four other proceedings against Shivakumar -- who is also the state Congress chief -- that were initiated against him under the same Epidemic Diseases Act.
ALSO READ: BJP General Secretary CT Ravi calls for convening "Maha Panchayat" to save Hindu society
"The notification which the State relies upon is the one issued under the Disaster Management Act and not under the Epidemic Diseases Act. Therefore unless notification under Epidemic Diseases Act is issued barring such activities, taking recourse to the Disaster Management Act and bringing it into Epidemic Diseases Act is unavailable," the HC said in its order quashing the case.
The complaint against Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar along with eleven others was filed by the tahsildar of Ramanagara on January 12, 2022. It was alleged that they had violated the Government orders and went ahead with the padayatra without permission.
A local magistrate had taken cognizance of the crime and initiated proceedings.
The Congress, then in opposition, had staged a padayatra demanding the implementation of the Mekedatu reservoir project across the Cauvery river, near Kanakapura in the Ramanagara district.
Quashing the case, the HC said, "The registration of the case and the filing of the charge sheet by the police for violation of Epidemic Diseases Act is rendered unsustainable. All other offences alleged under IPC are offshoots of Section 5 of the Epidemic Diseases Act. That having been rendered unsustainable, all other offences would also follow suit."
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Second PUC results: Life convict clears exam with distinction, DGP lauds effort
_vb_63.jpeg)
Bengaluru: A life convict lodged in Ballari Central Prison has successfully cleared the second PUC examination.
Ashok Kumar S, who appeared for the examination under prison escort, secured 481 marks out of 600, registering 80.1 percent.
Director General of Police (Prisons and Correctional Services), Alok Kumar (IPS), shared the development on his official ‘X’ handle, commending the inmate’s achievement.
In his post, he stated that it was heartening to see a life convict score over 80 percent in the examination, adding that the inmate had appeared from Ballari Central Prison under escort.
It’s heartening to see that one of our life convict prisoners Ashok has obtained 80.1% marks in PUC exam. He appeared under Prison escort from Ballari Central Prison for his exams.
— alok kumar (@alokkumar6994) April 9, 2026
Glad to see that Walls of the prison has not subdued his hopes for a better future. pic.twitter.com/Nzlcy076SR
He further noted that the achievement reflected that the “walls of the prison have not subdued his hopes for a better future.”
Alok Kumar in his post also shared the result sheet of Ashok.
The Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB) declared the second PUC results for 2026 on April 9.
A total of 6,32,200 students appeared for the examination across all streams, of whom 5,46,698 passed, recording an overall pass percentage of 86.48 per cent.
