Relief to Karnataka CM Yediyurappa, Minister Murugesh Nirani, SC stays arrest in corruption case
New Delhi, Jan 27: In a relief to Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and former minister for industries Murugesh Nirani, the Supreme Court Wednesday protected them from arrest in a case pertaining to alleged forgery over withdrawal of approval for a parcel of land in the state.
The top court however refused to stay the January 5 order of Karnataka High Court, by which it had allowed restoration of the criminal complaint against the Yediyurappa.
You (Yediyurappa) are a sitting Chief Minister. Who can issue arrest warrant against you, the top court observed.
A bench of Chief Justice Bobde and Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, which issued notices to complainants, one A Alam Pasha and others, in the case agreed to examine the pleas of Yediyurappa and Nirani challenging the order of the high court restoring the complaint.
Issue notice. There shall be stay of arrest in the meantime, the bench said in its order.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Yediyurappa, said the appeal raises a legal question whether a court can proceed under the provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act against a public servant without prior sanction on the ground that he had demitted the office, which he had allegedly used for commission of offence .
He sought stay of the High Court order or the proceedings before the trial court saying that process will start after the High Court's verdict.
Rohatgi said that Yediyurappa will be arrested pursuant to the arrest warrant issued by the trial court.
You are a sitting Chief Minister. Who can issue arrest warrant against you. Moreover, against the Chief Minister, they issue letter of request and not warrant, the bench said.
The top court also issued similar order on the plea of Nirani.
In his appeal, Yediyurappa said, That one of the questions of law that arises in the present Special Leave Petition pertains to whether a court can proceed under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, against a public servant without prior sanction, on the ground that he has allegedly demitted the office which he was alleged to have abused, in view of the amended provisions of section 19 of the PC Act .
He said that being aggrieved by the impugned final judgement of January 5, he has filed the appeal as it had erroneously allowed the petition filed by Pasha/complainant under section 482 CrpC and thereby set aside the well-reasoned order of August 26, 2016, passed by the Special Judge whereby the complaint was dismissed for want of requisite prior sanction.
However, by virtue of the impugned judgement, the High Court erroneously set aside the order only on the ground that the petitioner had demitted the office which had allegedly been abused by him at the time of commission of offence and therefore no sanction was necessary to be obtained, the appeal said.
It said that the same is contrary to the settled law laid down by this court in a catena of judgements as well as the provisions of the amended PC Act.
Yediyurappa said that action of Pasha/complainant in waiting for him to demit office before submitting the complaint is a complete abuse of the process of law and by permitting the complainant to adopt the device to circumvent the statutory protection afforded to a public servant, the High Court has rendered the protection illusory.
On January 5, the Karnataka High Court had partly allowed a petition by Pasha and accordingly set aside the August 26, 2016 order of additional city civil and sessions judge related to three of the four accused, including Yediyurappa, dismissing the complaint against them.
The case under Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Corruption Act related to alleged criminal conspiracy and forgery of documents purported to have been issued by Pasha in 2012 when Yediyurappa was the chief minister in his first term.
Besides Yediyurappa, Nirani, former principal secretary V P Baligar and former managing director of Karnataka Udyog Mitra Shivaswamy K are the other accused.
They have been accused by the Pasha of committing forgery of documents purported to have been issued by her seeking to withdraw the approval granted for allotment of 26 acres of land at Devanahalli Industrial Area in Bengaluru Rural District.
Initially, the lower court had in 2013 dismissed a complaint filed by her on ground that sanction to prosecute the accused had not been obtained.
She filed a fresh complaint in 2014 after Yediyurappa demitted office, but it was also dismissed by the lower court on August 26, 2016 on the same ground, though giving liberty to approach the court after getting prior sanction from competent authority.
Pasha had submitted that since the respondents were no longer in office, sanction for their prosecution was not necessary.
The High Court concurred with her submission and ruled that the quashing of the earlier complaint for want of sanction would not act as a bar to maintain the latest complaint filed in 2014 after the respondents demitted office.
The high court, however, upheld the lower court order in respect of Baligar, the third respondent, as the government did not grant sanction to prosecute him.
It directed the complaint to be restored in file and said that the same shall be proceeded with in accordance with law.
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Shaheen Group of Educational Institutions announces special scholarships for 1,000 students
Bengaluru: Shaheen Group of Educational Institutions is announcing special scholarships for 1000 students of government and aided schools for the current academic year, announced Dr. Abdul Qadeer, head of Shaheen Group of Educational Institutions on Tuesday.
Addressing a press conference at the Bift Hall of the Darussalam Building on Queen's Road in the city, he said that students who have obtained more than 90% marks in the SSLC examination and have studied in Kannada, Urdu or English medium in government and aided schools in the state can apply for this scholarship.
Selected students will be granted a 75% tuition fee waiver to study at Shaheen PU Colleges located in various parts of the country. Dr. Abdul Qadeer said the initiative aims to support students from families below the poverty line.
Eligible students can apply by visiting the nearest Shaheen college or by applying online at www.shaheengroup.org. The last date to apply is May 15. Interviews for shortlisted applicants will be conducted on May 18 at Shaheen colleges. Priority will be given to students from rural areas, children with disabilities, and orphans.
Dr. Abdul Qadeer also introduced the CARES initiative, which aims to ensure that no child is deprived of education due to financial constraints. Under this scheme, if religious institutions such as mosques, Baitul Maal, temples, or churches come forward to cover 40% of the education expenses of children from the poorest backgrounds, the Shaheen Foundation will contribute the remaining 60% as a scholarship.
He also mentioned that the Minority Welfare Department of Karnataka has decided to provide secular education alongside religious education in 100 madrasas. Work has already begun in 97 madrasas under this initiative. There is scope for enrolling nearly 2,000 school dropouts. Children above the age of 12 will be trained and prepared to pass the SSLC examination within two years, he said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Abdul Qadeer also announced that the Shaheen Group of Educational Institutions has signed an agreement with M.S.I.T. Medical College, a government-run institution in Tajikistan. Indian students who wish to pursue MBBS studies will be enrolled there, and the curriculum will be based on Indian standards. A total of 500 students will be admitted under this program. After completing the MBBS course, students will be trained for India’s qualifying examination. For more information, students are requested to call the helpline number 9686601088 or visit the website www.msitshaheen.com.
Educationist Syed Tanveer Ahmed, Shaheen Group of Educational Institutions Acting Head Sheikh Shafiq, Chief Executive Officer Tausif Ahmed, Director Asif Ali were present at the press conference.
