PM Modi coming to K'taka as polls draw near, what's his contribution: Siddaramaiah
Belagavi, Nov 7: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Bengaluru on November 11, senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Monday questioned Modi's contributions to Karnataka and said the latter was visiting the State because Assembly election is fast approaching.
Questioning his silence over allegations of corruption against the BJP government in the State, the former Chief Minister asked what was the slogan "Na Khaunga, Na Khane Doonga (neither will I indulge in corruption nor allow anyone else to indulge in it) for?"
"Modi says there is a double-engine government in Karnataka, but what has he done? When there were floods, he did not come, did not hear out the woes of the people. Now, with the elections are nearing, he is coming," Siddaramaiah said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "What has he (PM) done regarding price rise, unemployment. Hate politics increased after he came to power. What has he done to fulfil the promise of doubling farmers' income. Not even 10 per cent of promises made by the BJP in Karnataka have been implemented."
Alleging that Modi did not take any action against the '40 per cent commission allegation against the BJP government in Karnataka' despite a letter to him from the State contractors' association seeking action, the Congressman asked, "What is then the slogan Na Khaunga, Na Khane Doonga for?"
Modi is to visit the State on November 11 to attend various functions like the inauguration of the second terminal of the Kempegowda International Airport, second terminal, unveiling of a 108-foot statue of Bengaluru founder Nada Prabhu Kempegowda, and flagging off of the Chennai-Mysuru 'Vande Bharat' train, among others.
Seeming to be undecided over the constituency from where he would be contesting the 2023 Assembly polls in Karnataka, the Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly indicated that he may not contest from his current seat - Badami. "There is pressure on me to contest from Badami, thousands of women there have threatened to sit in front of my house to put pressure on me, they have written a letter.
The reason I'm thinking so much is because, I will not be able to be there in the constituency once a week, will not be able to meet workers on a daily basis and listen to issues and resolve them, as I will have other work," said Siddaramaiah.
He said, "People are asking me to contest, but my conscience tells me not to; it has been two months since I have been to Badami. I planned to go there tomorrow (Tuesday), but cancelled it, as I've other work."
There is also pressure to contest from Kolar, he said, "My son (Varuna MLA Yathindra Siddaramaiah) is asking me to contest from Varuna (Siddaramaiah had earlier represented the seat), and Chamrajpet MLA Zmeer Ahmed Khan is asking me to contest from his...from where should I contest, our party will decide."
Siddaramaiah has made it clear that he would not contest from Chamundeshwari. As the then sitting chief minister, he lost the 2018 polls in Chamundeshwari to JD(S) G T Deve Gowda by 36,042 votes.
He, however, won Badami, the other constituency from where he had contested and defeated B Sriramulu (BJP) by 1,696 votes.
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SC reserves verdict on ex-CM Yediyurappa's plea against revival of corruption case
New Delhi(PTI): The Supreme Court has reserved its verdict on a plea of senior BJP leader and former Karnataka chief minister B S Yediyurappa against an order reviving a corruption case against him.
The Karnataka High Court, on January 5, 2021, allowed a plea of complainant A Alam Pasha, who hails from Bengaluru, and revived his complaint.
Pasha alleged corruption and criminal conspiracy against Yediyurappa and former Industries minister Murugesh R Nirani and Shivaswamy KS, former managing director of Karnataka Udyog Mitra.
The high court ruled the absence of prior sanction for prosecution—leading to the quashing of an earlier complaint—did not bar the filing of a fresh complaint once the accused had demitted office.
It, however, did not allow criminal prosecution of V P Baligar, a retired IAS officer and former principal secretary of the state government, in the corruption case.
On April 4, a bench comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra concluded the hearings and framed several key legal questions for its adjudication including whether after a judicial magistrate has ordered probe under Section 156(3) of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), would a prior sanction of the appropriate government authorities be still required under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act.
Section 156 (3) of the CrPC permits a judicial magistrate to order a police investigation into a complaint and it may include order for a preliminary inquiry or registration of an FIR.
Section 17A of the PC Act says, “No police officer shall conduct any enquiry or inquiry or investigation into any offence alleged to have been committed by a public servant under this Act, where the alleged offence is relatable to any recommendation made or decision taken by such public servant in discharge of his official functions or duties, without the previous approval...”
The top court framed seven crucial legal questions, primarily focusing on the interplay between various provisions of the PC Act and the CrPC on the issue of prior sanction to prosecute a public servant and power of the judicial magistrate to entertain a private complaint and order probe and an FIR.
“What are the relevant considerations as contemplated by Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 which the appropriate authority or government is expected to look into before the grant of approval for initiation of any enquiry, inquiry, or investigation by the police?” read the first question the bench framed.
Whether the considerations which weigh with the appropriate authority or government while granting approval under Section 17A of the PC Act are fundamentally so different from the one that a magistrate is ordinarily expected to apply while passing an order under Section 156(3) of the CrPC, read the second issue.
“In other words, whether the considerations under Section 17A of the PC Act are of such a nature that they are necessarily beyond the ambit or scope of consideration by a Magistrate while directing an investigation under Section 156(3) of the CrPC,” the bench said.
The top court asked if it could be said that once a magistrate has applied his mind under Section 156(3) of the CrPC, the requirement of a prior approval under Section 17A of the PC Act is meaningless, redundant and no longer necessary.
“Could it be said that a police officer, despite a direction under Section 156(3) by a Magistrate, would remain inhibited from conducting any enquiry, inquiry, or investigation without prior approval as required by Section 17A,” it added.
Whether a magistrate could proceed with inquiry under Sections 200 (examination of private complainant) and 202 (postponement of a criminal case) of the CrPC without prior sanction, and whether such actions are limited only to the pre-cognizance stage, read another question.
The top court asked the counsel of the senior BJP leader to file the written submissions within two weeks, along with relevant case laws addressing not just the framed questions, but any additional issues that may arise.
Pasha had initially filed a complaint alleging Yediyurappa and others conspired to forge documents to revoke the high-level clearance committee’s approval for allotting 26 acre of industrial land to him at Devanahalli Industrial Area.
The complaint, which invoked provisions under the IPC and the PC Act, was initially investigated by the Lokayukta Police, but in 2013, the high court quashed the complaint for a lack of mandatory sanction under Section 19 of the PC Act.
Subsequently, after the accused officials vacated their offices, Pasha filed a fresh complaint in 2014, arguing that sanction was no longer required in light of Supreme Court judgment in the A R Antulay case.
The special judge dismissed the second complaint in 2016, again citing lack of sanction.
Challenging this dismissal, Pasha approached high court which passed a partly favourable ruling.
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