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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Karnataka govt directs municipal corps to regulate, prohibit pigeon feeding
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government has issued directions to municipal corporations across the state to regulate and prohibit feeding pigeons in public places, citing serious public health concerns.
Deputy Secretary to Government V Lakshmikanth has written to the Urban Development Department requesting it to issue directions to the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and all municipal corporations to take immediate steps to implement the measures.
In an official note dated December 16 issued by the Health and Family Welfare Department and released to the media on Wednesday, the department said uncontrolled feeding of pigeons in public places has resulted in large congregations of birds, excessive droppings and serious health concerns, particularly respiratory illnesses linked to prolonged exposure to pigeon droppings and feathers such as hypersensitivity pneumonitis and other lung diseases.
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"The commissioner, the Greater Bengaluru Authority and the Commissioners and chief officers of other municipal corporations shall take necessary action to mitigate the causes of dangerous disease spread by pigeon and enforce specified guidelines in their respective jurisdiction," the note said.
According to the department, these include a prohibition on feeding pigeons or causing pigeons to be fed in areas where it may cause nuisance or pose a health hazard to the public. Pigeon feeding shall be permitted only in designated areas in a controlled manner, subject to certain conditions.
"The designated areas may be selected in consultation with stakeholders. The responsibility for upkeep of the designated areas and compliance to the directions shall be taken up by some charitable organisation or an NGO. The feeding in designated areas shall be permitted only for some limited hours in the day," it said.
The note further stated that authorised officers of local authorities shall issue on-the-spot warnings and may impose fines for violation of the order, or lodge complaints to prosecute offenders under Sections 271 (Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 272 (Malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
It also directed local authorities to conduct public awareness campaigns, including the display of signboards, banners and digital messages, explaining the health hazards associated with pigeon droppings and feathers, the content of the regulatory directions and penalties for violations, and alternative humane methods of bird conservation that do not endanger public health.
