SC relief for SM Krishna; apex court stays probe against him

New Delhi, Jan 27: The Supreme Court on Friday, Jan 27 stayed criminal proceedings against External Affairs Minister SM Krishna in a mining scam case. An FIR was filed against Mr Krishna by Karnataka Lokayukta for allegedly de-reserving large forest areas for mining in Bellary as the then Chief Minister of Karnataka between 1999-2004.

After Karnataka High Court annulled Krishna's petition against Lokayukta probe, looking up a last-ditch the former moved SC over the same plea. As a relief, the apex court stayed probe against the accused minister as it felt the 'FIR was premature' since Lokayukta was yet to submit the full report.

The Lokayukta court ordered a probe on Mr Krisha over a private complaint by a Bangalore based businessman TJ Abraham. The probe list also included former CM of karnataka, N Dharam Singh, HD Kumarswamy and 11 other retired senior officers.

Furthermore, Krishna was charged of owning 10 private companies to mine in Bellary areas despite the dissent by then state forests minister and secretary of the forest department.

OneIndia News