Yeddyurappa named in three more cases

The court has scheduled the hearing in early February as it needs time to go through hundreds of documents

The court has scheduled the hearing in early February as it needs time to go through hundreds of documents

With three more complaints being lodged against Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa yesterday, the number of cases he has been named in has gone up to five. His family members, too have been named in the land scam.


CM's nightmares: Advocates Sirajin Basha and K N Balaraj visited city
Civil Court yesterday. They have alleged that the CM and others have
made monetary gains of more than Rs 189.71 crore, causing a loss of
about Rs 465 crore to the state exchequer. Pic/Ramesh H S

Meanwhile, his son-in-law R N Sohan Kumar's plea urging the court to quash the complaints also came up for hearing. Besides Yeddyurappa, the other accused include his sons B Y Vijayendra, B Y Raghavendra, son-in-law R N Sohan Kumar, and companies benefited by the alleged land scam deals.

After accepting the complaint, Jugde Chadrashekhar B Hipparagi said that it needs time tou00a0 to list out the matter after going through the records since the text runs into hundreds of pages. The case will be heard on February 1, 2 and 3 to decide upon the course of action.

Huge loss
C H Hanumantharaya, advocate for the complainant Sirajin Basha, said that the CM and others have made monetary gains of more than Rs 189.71 crore, causing a loss of about Rs 465 crore to the exchequer.

The complaints filed by advocate Sirajin Basha relate to alleged illegal transfer of land, abuse of power, criminal conspiracy, cheating and securing of illegal gain for his kith and kin and those associated with him."u00a0 Sirajin Basha is one of the two advocates on whose petitions Governor H R Bhardwaj gave the sanction for prosecution proceedings against Yeddyurappa.

Counter allegation
The court heard the cases filed on Saturday and posted the hearing for January 31. Meanwhile, R N Sohan Kumar, the fourth accused in the petition, who is also the chief minister's son-in-law filed an objection and demanded the court to include former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy's name as a co-accused in the filed petition.

The petitioner's counsel C H Hanumantharaya argued as how is it maintainable at this stage when the trial in itself has not been initiated.

"So far, none of the charges against the accused have been proven, and even the enquiry hasn't started. It is only after taking cognisance of the offence the accused be allowed to address," he said.

'Get them too'
However, the court took the application on record and Patil requested that under Section 210, the court applies a stay as the Lokayuktha had already initiated the enquiry into the case. Besides, he requested to include former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy under Section 319, as he was responsible for de-notifying about 60 acres of land in Ranchenahalli.

The court posted the hearing for January 31 and asked the petitioners to file any objections by then.
A P Ranganath, president, JD(S) legal cell, said, "The court has not yet taken cognisance of the case and Kumar's petition is not maintainable. Yeddyurppa family is trying to dilute the issue, and it will not stand in the court."

The Other Side

>>The political turmoil in the state is deepening, with polls appearing imminent if the BJP government is dismissed. And though all parties seem to be in favour of the dismissal, none of them is making the first move in that direction. >>The Congress is wary of the fact that the BJP might try to generate a sympathy wave in case it is ousted from power. For the ruling party, it is Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa who is proving to be a roadblock. >>While the party members seem agreed upon the dissolution of the government, the CM has refused to step down. >>"The governor is trying to destabilise my government by according a sanction to prosecute me," said Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa. "There is no need for a President's rule. I will bring this to the notice of the union home minister when I meet him." >>A BJP insider said this statement was a precursor of BJP's strategy. Party MLAs will stage a protest in front of the Raj Bhavan today, followed by a legislators' party meeting. >>"While the high command is mulling over the CM's resignation, he is threatening to dissolve the assembly at the eventuality. It could be advantageous for us if they (Congress) dismiss the government," said a BJP source. >>"This government will not survive for long, and so we want to be prepared for the polls," said a JD(S) leader.u00a0The Congress has chosen to tread cautiously as well.u00a0 >>"They are pulling it down themselves," said K Venakateswar, an AICC member. "A President's rule is the last option for us."