A city court on Saturday rejected a ‘B’ (closure) report filed by the Lokayukta police in a land de-notification case in which Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy is the prime accused. This effectively reopens the Lokayukta probe against the chief minister.
The case dates back to 2012. An FIR was filed against Mr. Kumaraswamy following a private complaint by M S Mahadeva Swamy, an activist. Mr. Kumaraswamy had denotified 3 acres 34 guntas in two parcels in Halagevaderahalli, which were notified by the BDA for Banashankari V stage on October 1, 2007, just a week before he left the post of the chief minister. He was accused of specifically calling for the file and denotifying the land despite objections from the Urban Development Department.
The complainant alleged that the land was denotified in favour of persons who were not the original owners of the land. They eventually sold the land to eight others who eventually entered into a joint development in 2011.
The complainant alleged that all the 18 beneficiaries of the denotification are close relatives and associates of the chief minister, resulting in pecuniary gain to him.
The Lokayukta police, which was probing the case, filed a ‘B’ report in early 2019 when H.D. Kumaraswamy was again the chief minister.
“Despite being a fit case for charge sheet, a ‘B’ report was filed after the chief minister influenced the probe,” Mr. Swamy told The Hindu .
On Saturday, Ramachandra D. Huddar, judge of the special court to deal with cases against elected representatives, heard a protest petition by the complainant against the ‘B’ report. The special court rejected the ‘B’ report in the case. The case has now been adjourned to July 26.
