Karnataka CM, 6 ministers face criminal cases: Poll watchdogs
Bengaluru, June 29: Seven Karnataka Ministers, including Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, face criminal charges ranging from forgery to causing death by negligence, said two election watchdogs in a report here on Friday.
The report by the Karnataka Election Watch and Delhi-based Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) was based only analysis of the poll affidavits belonging to 26 of 27 cabinet ministers, save Women and Child Development Minister Jayamala, the lone woman minister, whose affidavit was not available, ADR said.
It said that seven (27 per cent) of the 26 ministers, including Kumaraswamy have declared criminal cases against them, while four ministers, including him, face serious criminal charges.
The other six ministers are Venkatrao Nadagouda (Animal Husbandry and Fisheries), B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan (Food and Civil Supplies), D.K. Shivakumar (Water Resources and Medical Education), D.C. Thammanna (Transport), N. Mahesh (Primary and Secondary Education) and Ramesh L. Jarkiholi (Municipalities and Local Bodies).
Kumaraswamy faces serious criminal charges, including forgery for the purpose of cheating, causing disappearance of evidence, and other charges relating to criminal breach of trust.
Twenty five of the 26 ministers are crorepatis, as per the asset declarations in their poll affidavits, with Shivakumar being the richest with total assets worth Rs 840 crore.
Kumaraswamy is also among the top five ministers with highest declared assets and income, with total assets worth over Rs 160 crore.
Two of the ministers have only studied up to class 8 - with Higher Education Minister G.T. Deve Gowda being one of them.
A dozen of the 26 ministers have declared their educational qualifications to be between class 8 and 12, and 14 are graduates and above.
In a pre-poll survey by the election watchdogs, of the 2,654 candidates who were in fray for the state election, 883 were crorepatis and 645 had criminal cases against them.
The BJP candidates were found to be with the highest number of criminal cases against them, with 83 (37 per cent) of the 223 in fray having criminal cases against them and 58 others (26 per cent) having serious criminal cases against them including murder, attempt to murder and kidnapping etc.
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SC upholds inclusion of ‘secular, socialist’ in Preamble of Constitution
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the inclusion of the words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ in the Preamble of the Constitution, confirming their retrospective application from November 26, 1949. The court ruled that the power to amend the Constitution under Article 368 extends to the Preamble, which is an integral part of the document.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna stated, “The power under Article 368 cannot be curtailed. It will equally apply to the Preamble.” The 42nd Constitutional Amendment, which introduced these terms in 1976 during the Emergency, was challenged on grounds of its retrospective application and the lack of states’ ratification.
The petitioners, including BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, argued that the amendment forced a particular economic theory on the nation and violated the original intent of the Constitution. Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay contended that the Preamble reflects the will of the people at the time of adoption in 1949 and is therefore unalterable.
The court dismissed these objections, affirming that both socialism and secularism are part of the Constitution's Basic Structure. The Bench clarified that socialism refers to a welfare state ensuring equality of opportunity without negating private sector participation or individualism. It emphasised that secularism is embedded in the Constitution, particularly in the principles of equality and fraternity.
Chief Justice Khanna remarked, “Secularism has always been a core feature of the Constitution.” He added that the amendment did not impose socialism as dogma but aligned with the welfare goals enshrined in various constitutional provisions.
