In a temporary breather to Bharatiya Janata Party national vice-president and former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, the High Court of Karnataka on Tuesday set aside the sanction granted by the then Governor in 2011 for prosecuting him on the charge of alleged illegal denotification of acquired lands and allotment of site in favour of his son.
However, the Bench remitted the matter back to the present Governor for reconsideration of the plea, made by two advocates Sirajin Basha and K.N. Balaraj for grant of sanction for prosecuting Mr. Yeddyurappa, while asking the Governor to consider the matter based on the observations made in the verdict.
A Division Bench comprising acting Chief Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee and Justice Vineet Saran delivered the verdict while partly allowing a petition filed by Mr. Yeddyurappa, who had questioned the legality of the sanction for prosecution granted by the then Governor H.R. Bhardwaj on January 21, 2011.
“We have carefully gone through the order of sanction. With respect, the [then] Governor has quoted the complaint in detail in his order of sanction; virtually, there is no finding as to why he has accorded sanction in favour of the prosecution,” the Bench said.
Also, the Bench found that “there is no discussion [in order of sanction] as to why he [then Governor] was according sanction when his Council of Ministers had already appointed on December 22, 2010, Hon’ble Justice B. Padmaraj as one-man Commission to look into various irregularities in denotification of lands.”
Though the Governor was free to differ from his Council of Ministers, the Bench found that no reason was mentioned as to why the then Governor had not accepted the opinion expressed by the then State Cabinet through a resolution rejecting the sanction for Mr. Yeddyurappa’s prosecution. Also, the Bench found that the then Governor had not even referred to the letter, written by Mr. Yeddyurappa on January 19, 2011, informing the Governor on the opinion of the Cabinet.
The Bench said categorically that “…on perusal of the record, we are of the opinion that as the complaint was a private complaint, great care, caution and proper application of mind was necessary, particularly having regard to the uneasy relationship between the then Chief Minister [Yeddyurappa] and the then Governor [Bhardwaj].”
“Non-consideration of relevant matters made the order of sanction illegal and resulted in failure of justice. We are thus of the opinion that the exercise of power by the [then] Governor was not in accordance with the well-settled principles for sanctioning prosecution,” the Bench held.
Court asks Governor to re-examine matter based on lapses referred in the verdict
