BS Yeddyurappa fails to receive respite from Karnataka High Court

BANGALORE: Former Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa failed to receive respite from the Karnataka High Court, which on Monday dismissed his anticipatory bail plea. A Lokayukta court also ordered filing a charge sheet against him in connection with alleged irregularities in land denotification.

Following the high court order, Yeddyurappa responded to the summons by Lokayukta special court and appeared before it. The special court directed Lokayukta police to file a charge sheet against him and others. While Justice L Narayana Swamy of the high court dismissed Yeddyurappa's bail application, a division bench comprising Justices K L Manjunath and H S Kempanna also “dismissed as withdrawn” another petition seeking quashing of Chapter 22 of the Lokayukta report on illegal mining, which had indicted him. The Lokayukta court had directed Yeddyurappa to appear before it on Monday after granting him a day's exemption on August 27.

After Yeddyurappa, his son B Y Raghavendra and others appeared before the Lokayukta court, judge N K Sudhindra Rao directed Lokayukta police to file a charge sheet against the accused in the private complaints filed by advocate Sirajin Basha and adjourned the hearing to September 7.

The Lokayukta court had on August 8 issued summons to Yeddyurappa and 14 others on a complaint alleging irregularities in denotification of government lands, seeking their appearance on August 27.

Yeddyurappa had moved an application seeking exemption from personal appearance on health grounds, which the court rejected and directed him to appear on Monday. The former Karnataka chief minister was admitted to a private hospital after suffering from high fever, diabetes and hypertension.

The complaints filed by advocate Sirajin Basha alleged that Yeddyurappa had denotified 2.5 acre in Arakere, 1.7 acre in Devarahachikkanayakanahalli and 2.80 acre in Geddalahalli when he was the chief minister, causing an estimated loss of Rs 124.37 crore to the state exchequer. He also alleged that the denotified lands were subsequently purchased by “benamidars of Yeddyurappa's family members”.

Basha's other complaint against Yeddyurappa, his son and son-in-law, sitting BJP MLA Hemachandra Sagar and former minister S N Krishnaiah Shetty and four others is on alleged illegal land denotification of 2.14 acre in Agara village and 10 acre in Uttarahalli, causing a loss of about Rs 175 crore.

Meanwhile the high court adjourned to September 5 another application by Yeddyurappa seeking anticipatory bail in connection with a complaint by JDS leader Y S V Datta alleging financial irregularities in granting tender in Upper Bhadra irrigation project.