Iron mining case: Relief for SM Krishna, SC asks Karnataka SIT to probe role of Dharam Singh and Kumaraswamy

The Supreme Court today asked the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Karnataka Police to investigate the role of former Chief Ministers N Dharam Singh and HD Kumaraswamy in the iron ore mining case and file a report within three months.

The apex court, however, said that its stay on the investigation against another former Chief Minister S M Krishna will continue during the period. A bench comprising Justices P C Ghose and R F Nariman restrained all other courts including the high court from passing any order in the case. It has been alleged by one of the complainants, T J Abraham that the former chief ministers connived with several bureaucrats and others in de-registering a huge tract of forest land and allowed illegal iron ore mining on a large scale. The complainant had also referred to various reports of the then Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde indicting several politicians, bureaucrats and others.