Bengaluru, Jul 7: The High Court of Karnataka on Thursday directed the Lokayukta police “not to precipitate the investigation” into a land denotification against former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa.
The Lokayukta police is investigating into a complaint registered in 2015 accusing Yeddyurappa of denotifying land. He has moved the court seeking directions to quash the Lokyaukta proceedings against him. During the hearing, Justice Aravind Kumar asked the counsel representing the Lokayukta police, “what they were doing for the last two years as the complaint was registered in 2015?”
The Lokayukta counsel said investigation was being carried out. He said that if the court, at this juncture, orders not to precipitate the matter, they will not be able to go ahead with the investigation. The judge orally observed that if the petitioner is dragged into the investigation at a time when there is an impending elections next year, what purpose does it serve if he comes clean of the allegations after the elections.
The Lokayukta police is investigating into a complaint filed by one Jayakumar Hiremath against Yeddyurappa that as chief minister he had denotified 1.11 acres in Mathadahalli near Gangenahalli in Bengaluru, which originally belonged to Thimma Reddy, T Nagappa and Muniswamappa. He denotified the land in 2010 allegedly to benefit former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy’s relatives.
Survey numbers 7/1B, 7/1C and 7/1D of 17 guntas each at Gangenahalli village owned by Thimma Reddy, Nagappa and Muniswamappa were acquired by the Bangalore Development Authority in 1977 to form Mathadahalli Layout. However, one Rajashekharaiah claimed that he was in possession of the land and applied for denotification in 2007.
When he was the chief minister, Kumaraswamy had pursued to denotify the land. However, it was not possible during his tenure. When Yeddyurappa was the chief minister it was denotified in favour of the land owners in 2010. The denotification has apparently helped Kumaraswamy’s relatives, including his mother-in-law, who claims to hold the power of attorney from the original land owners, the complaint said.
Yeddyurappa has moved the court on the grounds that the complaint was registered in 2015 and there was absolutely no progress in the investigation by the Lokayukta police.
He contended that the case is pursued now to tarnish his as well as Kumaraswamy’s image to get political gain in the upcoming Assembly elections.
He has also contended that there is absolutely no evidence to prove that he gained by this denotification and, the complaint against him is only to target him politically.
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