The Karnataka High Court has stayed some of the penalties imposed on Kannada poet and writer Agrahara Krishnamurthy by the Sahitya Akademi following irregularities allegedly committed by him while he was functioning as its secretary.
Justice L. Narayanaswamy passed the interim order on July 1 after hearing the petition filed by Mr. Krishnamurthy. While the court stayed the decision of the Akademi to recover Rs. 30 lakh from his pension fund, it refused to stay the two other penalties — censure and compulsory retirement with retrospective effect — imposed on him.
A preliminary inquiry was conducted against Mr. Krishnamurthy in August 2012 over allegations of bias for Kannada, his mother tongue while he was responsible for all Indian languages as secretary of the Akademi along with other allegations of financial irregularities.
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Mr. Krishnamurthy said he was not given an opportunity to present his version before the panel and its findings were arbitrary. Mr. Krishnamurthy has denied all the allegations levelled against him.