Supreme Court refers BS Yediyurappa land de-notification case to larger bench
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday referred a plea by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa to a larger bench, deferring its verdict in the 2011 land de-notification case.
The Division Bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra noted that the legal questions involved in the matter were already pending before a larger bench in a connected case.
“When we were about to start working [on the judgment], we realised there was another order passed by coordinate bench on 16th April 2024 — Shamin Khan vs. Debashish Chakrabarty and Ors — the very same issues are referred to the larger Bench,” the Bench observed. “We felt propriety demands [that this matter also be referred to same Bench]… In this order also, we have formulated the issues… In the interest of judicial discipline, the coordinate bench of this court has refrained from proceeding further in deciding the underlying issue, which is under reference to a larger bench. We deem it appropriate to tag these petitions with the referred matter.”
The Court directed the Registry to place the matter before the Chief Justice of India for appropriate orders.
The case concerns allegations that government land acquired by the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) for establishing a hardware park in Hoovinayakanahalli, Bengaluru North Taluk, was illegally de-notified, causing significant loss to the State exchequer. The original complaint, filed by Alam Pasha, alleged that Yediyurappa, then Deputy Chief Minister in 2006, had abused his position in the de-notification process. The complaint also claimed that service and development charges worth crores were waived.
In 2012, police dropped charges against nine co-accused but named Yediyurappa and then Minister for Large and Medium Scale Industries, Katta Subramanya Naidu. However, a trial court later dismissed the complaint against both leaders due to lack of evidence.
Pasha challenged this dismissal before the Karnataka High Court, which in 2021 set aside the trial court order and directed that charges against Yediyurappa and Naidu be taken cognisance of and the trial be resumed. This High Court decision was subsequently challenged by Yediyurappa in the Supreme Court.
During the hearings, the apex court examined whether prior sanction was required to investigate the alleged offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, particularly after the 2018 amendment mandating sanction even for retired public servants.
The Bench also deliberated on the maintainability of a second complaint, filed just eight days after the first was dismissed, on the sole ground that the latter included a sanction for prosecution. Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra, appearing for Yediyurappa, argued that both complaints were based on identical facts and evidence, and that the High Court had erred by quashing a related 2015 case purely on technical grounds without examining its merits.
In that 2015 case, based on a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, Yediyurappa faced similar allegations of misuse of office. The Karnataka High Court quashed the case in 2023, holding that a coordinate bench had already dealt with related allegations and that a CAG report alone could not serve as a basis for criminal prosecution.
Senior Advocates Vikas Singh and R Basant, along with Additional Advocate General Aman Panwar, appeared for the State of Karnataka.
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BJP's Suvendu urges Bengal Guv to order independent judicial inquiry into Messi event fiasco
Kolkata(PTI): Leader of Opposition in West Bengal assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, on Saturday wrote to Governor C V Ananda Bose, seeking an independent judicial inquiry into “administrative incompetence” and “public humiliation of citizens”at the Salt Lake Stadium here during an event featuring football legend Lionel Messi.
In his letter, Adhikari alleged that the stadium, built with public funds, was converted into a “private durbar” for political elites, resulting in humiliation and harassment of spectators who had purchased tickets.
"I write this communication with a profound sense of anguish, constitutional alarm, and moral urgency. What unfolded at the Yuva Bharati Krirangan was not merely an episode of administrative incompetence, it was a public humiliation of citizens, a grotesque exhibition of unrestrained political privilege, and a direct assault on the rule of law in the presence of thousands of witnesses," Adhikari asserted.
He claimed that football fans were denied basic amenities and dignified viewing due to unchecked VIP presence, obstruction of sightlines, and arbitrary restrictions.
Chaos unfolded at the Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday, after spectators resorted to vandalism on failing to catch a glimpse of Messi, alleging gross mismanagement by the organisers and obstruction of views by VIPs.
Police arrested the event’s prime organiser, Satadru Datta, while Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced the constitution of a high-level inquiry committee to probe the incident.
Adhikari, in his letter, held the sports department, police authorities and the minister-in-charge of sports and youth affairs responsible, alleging that the situation was “enabled, if not orchestrated”, by the state administration.
He claimed that the conduct of the authorities reflected indifference to public accountability and misuse of power.
The senior BJP leader also took exception to the inquiry committee announced by the chief minister, contending that it lacked independence and credibility.
Adhikari said the panel is headed by Justice (Retd) Asim Ray, who currently holds a statutory post under the administrative control of the state government, and includes senior bureaucrats whose actions are under scrutiny.
"This committee is structurally compromised, legally infirm, and morally indefensible," he said in the letter to the governor.
Adhikari urged Bose to exercise his constitutional authority to order the formation of a truly independent inquiry committee.
He proposed that the committee be headed by a sitting judge of the Calcutta High Court, and assisted by persons of unimpeachable integrity with no institutional, administrative or political affiliation with the state government.
“The issue transcends football, politics, and personalities. It concerns the right of citizens to be treated with dignity, the obligation of the state to act as trustee of public interest, and the duty of constitutional authorities to intervene when the executive becomes a law unto itself,” Adhikari said.
Later, speaking to reporters, he accused the state government of mismanaging the situation at Salt Lake Stadium, and demanded the resignation of the CM.
Adhikari said all those responsible for the fiasco should be arrested, and spectators must be provided refunds.
He alleged that senior Trinamool Congress leaders and their associates crowded around Messi, leaving thousands of fans at the stadium deprived of catching a clear glimpse of the football star.
“This was a case of misuse of power at the cost of ordinary citizens. The chief minister must take moral responsibility, those responsible for the incident should be arrested, and every fan who was cheated must get a refund,” Adhikari asserted.
He added that public anger would not subside without accountability and corrective action.
