In a partial relief to BJP national general secretary C.T. Ravi, the High Court of Karnataka has set aside a 2016 special court order directing the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to probe a disproportionate assets allegation made against him in a private complaint.
Justice John Michael Cunha, while partly allowing Mr. Ravi’s petition, remanded the matter back to the special court to afford an opportunity to the complainant to file an affidavit in terms of the law laid down by the apex court.
The High Court said the special court should not have referred the complaint for investigation without asking the complainant, A.C. Kumar of Chikkamagaluru, to file an affidavit to fix responsibility on complaints and to obviate false and irresponsible complaints being filed.
The High Court also said that it was open to the complainant, if need be, to file a complaint before the ACB, as the allegations pertained to offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The complaint was originally filed before the special court for Lokayukta cases in 2012, and the court referred it for investigation in 2016. By then, the government had vested with the ACB the power to investigate complaints under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
