Karnataka BJP chief Yeddyurappa gets temporary relief in denotification case

The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday directed the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) not to proceed with any prosecutive action against state BJP President BS Yeddyurappa till August 28 in an alleged illegal land denotification matter.

Justice Aravind Kumar gave the order after the investigating agency said it was withdrawing its notice served on the former chief minister to appear before it tomorrow. The ACB gave a statement to the court that it would not proceed with its action against Yeddyurappa and withdrew summons issued to him. The judge then adjourned the hearing to August 28.

Yeddyurappa has moved the court, seeking quashing of the ACB proceedings against him in the case. He has been accused of de-notifying 257 acres of land from a preliminary notification of 3,546 acres, meant for the formation of the Dr K Shivaram Karanth Layout, "bypassing" the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) committee's approval, when he was the chief minister between May, 2008 and July, 2011.
Two FIRs had been filed against the BJP leader, based on a complaint by a member of the 'Jana Samanya Vedike', a social organisation.

In his petition, Yeddyurappa had alleged that the ACB was being used to target the opposition leaders in the Congress-ruled state, "in retaliation" to the recent Income Tax raids on Karnataka Energy Minister D K Shivakumar's properties. He has also charged that the FIRs against him were a result of "political vendetta and mala fide intentions". The former chief minister had contended that there was no question of any denotification of land by him since the entire land acquisition was quashed by the high court in 2014.