High Court quashes case against MP K. Sudhakar in cash seizure incident
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has quashed the case registered against Chikkaballapur MP Dr. K. Sudhakar in connection with the seizure of Rs 4.8 crore during the last Lok Sabha elections near Madavara.
A single-judge bench of Justice M.I. Arun allowed Sudhakar’s plea seeking to cancel the FIR and the trial proceedings pending before the Special Court for People’s Representatives. The detailed judgment copy is yet to be made available.
The case dates back to April 25, 2024, when election officials received a tip-off that Rs 10 crore was being kept aside to distribute among voters. Acting on this information, officials of the Election Commission and the Income Tax Department raided the house of Govindappa in Madavara village and seized Rs 4.8 crore. The complaint was filed by Dasharath V. Kumbar, a member of the Static Surveillance Team.
It was alleged that during this time, K. Sudhakar, who was then the BJP candidate, had contacted election officer Munish Mudgil via WhatsApp call and messages from an unknown number seeking help. The complaint further alleged that the seized money was intended to be distributed to voters. Following this, the Madanayakanahalli police registered an FIR.
Sudhakar, Govindappa and others were booked under sections 171E (bribery in elections), 171F (undue influence in elections), 171B (offering gifts to influence voters), 171C (interference with voting rights) of the Indian Penal Code, along with Section 123 of the Representation of the People Act, which deals with electoral malpractices. The police later filed a chargesheet, and the Special Court had taken cognizance of the case.
Challenging this, Sudhakar approached the High Court, which has now set aside the FIR and the subsequent proceedings.
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8 dead, dozens wounded in Russian strike on Ukraine's Odesa port
Kyiv (AP): Eight people were killed and 27 wounded in a Russian missile strike on port infrastructure in Odesa, southern Ukraine, late on Friday, Ukraine's Emergency Service said on Saturday morning.
Some of the wounded were on a bus at the epicentre of the overnight strike, the service said in a Telegram post. Trucks caught fire in the parking lot, and cars were also damaged.
The port was struck with ballistic missiles, said Oleh Kiper, the head of the Odesa region.
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Elsewhere, Ukrainian forces hit a Russian warship and other facilities with drones, Ukraine's General Staff said in a statement on Saturday.
The nighttime attack on Friday hit the Russian warship “Okhotnik,” according to the statement posted to the Telegram messaging app.
The ship was patrolling in the Caspian Sea near an oil and gas production platform. The extent of the damage is still being clarified, the statement added.
A drilling platform at the Filanovsky oil and gas field in the Caspian Sea was also hit. The facility is operated by Russian oil giant Lukoil. Ukrainian drones also struck a radar system in the Krasnosilske area of Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
