Karnataka High Court stays lower court proceedings against Siddaramaiah
They stated that of the camps in 20 taluks which the state claims to have established, none were found in 14 taluks.
BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court stayed lower court proceedings against former chief minister Siddaramaiah for four weeks.
He is an accused in a case where during his tenure as deputy chief minister in 1997 he had allegedly bought 10 guntas of land in Vijayanagar 2nd Stage in Mysuru developed by MUDA through an indirect denotification, built a house and sold it later in 2003.
RTI activist Gangaraju had filed the complaint. Following the lower court's order, the Lakshmipuram police had filed an FIR under various IPC sections. Mr Siddaramaiah and ten others were directed by a lower court to appear before it on September 23.
Cattle camps: High Court unhappy
The High Court on Monday came down heavily on the state government for misleading it on cattle camps and fodder banks which were set up in drought-affected taluks by the state government.
Following the High Court's direction, Karnataka State Legal Services Authority officials inspected cattle camps and fodder banks in 20 drought-affected taluks as listed by the state government and submitted its findings. They stated that of the camps in 20 taluks which the state claims to have established, none were found in 14 taluks.
After hearing the submissions of the KSLSA officials, the High Court expressed displeasure against the state government for misleading and wasting the court's time.
It observed that filing false information before the court amounts to contempt of court, and asked the Secretary for Animal Husbandry to be present in person at 4.45 pm on September 26 before it, to explain the matter.
The court was hearing two separate PILs filed by the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority and Mallikarjuna A., an agriculturist and resident of Cheluru village at Gubbi taluk in Tumakuru district.