The High Court of Karnataka on Tuesday directed the State’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) not to arrest T.N. Chikkarayappa, suspended managing director of Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Ltd. (CNNL), till January 9 in the case of alleged disproportionate assets case.
Justice Anand Byrareddy passed the interim order after Mr. Chikkarayappa’s counsel expressed apprehension of being arrested despite pendency of consideration of his plea for grant of anticipatory bail before a special court, as the ACB had issued a lookout notice against him.
The counsel also gave an undertaking to the court that Mr. Chikkarayappa would cooperate with the investigating agency, while pointing out that the special court is expected to give its decision on his plea for anticipatory bail on January 9. It was also contended that though the I-T Department had showed recovery of only ₹3 lakh from his possession during the raids conducted after demonetisation, the ACB has “wrongly” registered in its FIR that the department had recovered about ₹75 lakh.
However, counsel for ACB told the court that raids conducted by the bureau had disclosed that he had allegedly amassed wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income.
