Karnataka High Court stays operation of new ACB

Bengaluru, April 7: In a setback to the Congress government in the state, the Karnataka High Court on Thursday, April 7 stayed the operation of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, saying the corruption cases being probed by Lokayukta and pending sanction for prosecution should not be transferred to the newly-formed investigation agency.

A division bench, comprising Chief Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherejee and Justice Ravi Malimath, passed the order on a petition filed by B G Chidananda Urs, a city-based advocate.

The bench also said any action initiated by ACB would be subject to the result of the PIL filed before the Court. The petitioner, in his PIL, challenged the validity of creation of ACB.

He argued that the government issued a notification for creating ACB despite submitting before the court that it is taking measures to strengthen Lokayukta. The bench has posted the matter to April 12 for the next hearing.

PTI