The Karnataka High Court on Friday suspended the trial court’s decision to recognize the charges against former Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa and three other defendants in relation to a Pocso Act case. The High Court also annulled the summons issued to them, freeing them from attending the trial court in person.
On February 28, the special court had ordered Yediyurappa, aged 82, and three others to appear on March 15 concerning the case. The court had taken new cognizance of the charge sheet submitted by the Karnataka Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
The case originated on March 14 of the previous year when a mother filed a complaint regarding her 17-year-old daughter, alleging that Yediyurappa had sexually assaulted her during a meeting at his Dollars Colony residence on February 2, 2023.
Justice Pradeep Singh Yerur, who issued the interim order, remarked that the matter merited further detailed hearings. He also exempted the accused from attending the trial court until the next hearing and issued a notice to the complainant.
The stay order came after Yediyurappa contested the trial court’s decision to acknowledge the case. Senior Advocate C.V. Nagesh, representing Yediyurappa, argued that the complaint was suspect, indicating that the mother and her daughter had met with the Bengaluru Police Commissioner several times after the alleged incident without making any accusations. He also noted that key witnesses present at Yediyurappa’s residence during the alleged incident corroborated that nothing inappropriate had occurred.
Nagesh further asserted that the trial court had issued its order without a comprehensive examination of the case’s facts.
Conversely, Advocate General Shashi Kiran Shetty, representing the state, opposed the petition, arguing that the trial court had identified sufficient grounds to proceed with the case. He stated that suspending the order would adversely affect the prosecution’s efforts.
The trial court’s new cognizance followed a February 7 order from the High Court, instructing the trial court to reassess and issue appropriate orders on the CID’s final report concerning the case. This order came after the partial acceptance of Yediyurappa’s petition challenging the Pocso Act proceedings against him. The High Court had also granted anticipatory bail to Yediyurappa.
The CID submitted a charge sheet on June 27, 2023, to the Fast Track Court. The CID’s investigation claims that Yediyurappa and the other three accused provided money to the victim and her mother in exchange for their silence.
Yediyurappa is facing charges under Section 8 (punishment for sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, in addition to Sections 354A (sexual harassment), 204 (destruction of evidence), and 214 (offering gifts to conceal the offender) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The three other accused—Arun Y.M., Rudresh M., and G. Mariswamy, who are aides to Yediyurappa—face charges under IPC Sections 204 and 214.
The mother of the victim, who filed the charge against Yediyurappa, passed away from lung cancer in May of last year at a private hospital in Bengaluru.
