Karnataka High Court dismisses plea challenging arrest of Congress MLA K.C. Veerendra by ED
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has dismissed a petition challenging the arrest of Chitradurga Congress MLA K.C. Veerendra alias Veerendra Pappi by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with an alleged money laundering case.
The petition was filed by Veerendra’s wife, R.D. Chaitra, seeking to declare her husband’s arrest illegal and to direct his immediate release. After completing the hearing earlier, Justice M.I. Arun of the single-judge bench pronounced the verdict on Wednesday, rejecting the plea.
The court ruled that the arrest of MLA Veerendra cannot be termed illegal and noted that the amendments made to Section 2(1)(u) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) had strengthened the powers of the Enforcement Directorate. The court observed that the amendment allows the ED to continue its investigation based on the pending case registered at Harohalli Police Station in Kanakapura.
The High Court also clarified that the dismissal of the current petition will not affect other proceedings, including the bail plea filed by Veerendra before different courts. It added that if the competent court accepts the ‘B Report’ filed by the police in the Harohalli case, the petitioner would still have the liberty to challenge Veerendra’s arrest order again.
The detailed order of the court is awaited.
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Power tariffs under BESCOM to rise from May 1
Bengaluru (PTI): Power bills for consumers under the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) will go up from May 1, following an order issued by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) on Friday.
The hike comes after KERC allowed the BESCOM to recover a revenue deficit of Rs 2,068 crore incurred in 2024-25, from the consumers.
As a result, for every unit of electricity consumed in 2024-25, the customers will be charged an additional 56 paise, it said.
"BESCOM shall calculate, for each of the active consumers of FY2024-25 the amount to be recovered based on their actual energy consumption during FY2024-25. Such amount shall be recovered during FY 2026-27 in equal monthly instalments, to be called as 'FY25 True up Charges', commencing from the first meter reading date falling on or after 1 May 2026 and concluding with the reading date ending on 30 April 2027," the order said.
"It is further ordered that BESCOM shall maintain a separate head of account, allocated for the purpose, to record the adjustment of the said amount to ensure full recovery of the deficit," it added.
Similarly Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (CESC) has also recorded a revenue deficit of Rs 121.71 crore and can collect an additional 15 paisa per unit for consumption in 2024-25, official sources said.
