Karnataka HC stays ACB investigations against B S Yeddyurappa in denotification case

The BJP had accused the Congress of misusing ACB to target opposition party leaders

The Karnataka High Court on Friday ordered an interim stay of FIRs registered against BJP state unit Chief B S Yeddyurappa. The interim order now stops the anti-corruption bureau from going ahead with investigations against Yeddyurappa in a land de-notification case coming as a major relief to the BJP's chief ministerial candidate in the 2018 assembly elections.

Justice Arvind Kumar passed the interim order after hearing B S Yeddyurappa's plea to quash the FIR registered against him over allegations of denotification in Shivaram Karanth layout. The pronouncement of judgment took place in the open court and had been in process since Thursday. The single judge bench on Friday stayed two FIRs registered by the ACB against Yeddyurappa in connection with the case.

Justice Kumar said that the ABC had delayed in registering FIR in the case. He considered the lack of prima facie evidence in initial investigation to prove allegations, the filing of two FIRs on a single complaint, lack of evidence to prove loss to the exchequer as reasons to order an interim stay on the investigations.

B S Yeddyurappa had moved the High Court seeking to quash FIRs registered against him. After weeks of hearing arguments from both sides, the court finally granted a stay on investigations. The BJP has accused the Anti-Corruption Bureau of misusing its authority to target opposition party leaders ahead of the 2018 assembly elections in Karnataka.

The ACB, in August earlier this year, had filed two FIRs over illegal land denotification. The total loss due to denotification allegedly done by Yeddyurappa when he was the Chief Minister was pegged at a whopping Rs 3,800 crore.

OneIndia News