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How the Council of Ministers made out a case for not granting sanction for prosecution
The resolution passed by the Karnataka’s Council of Ministers on Thursday — advising Governor Taawarchand Gehlot to withdraw the show-cause notice issued to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah asking him why sanction for prosecution against him should not be given in the alleged irregularities in the distribution of sites by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) — says that the Governor has failed to take note of the complainant’s antecedents.
It alleged that T.J. Abraham comes with “criminal antecedents”, having criminal cases of blackmail and extortion registered against him, and his conduct in misusing the public interest jurisdiction had been frowned upon by the Supreme Court, levying cost on him. His acts were motivated and lacked bona fides, it alleged.
At the press conference held on Thursday after a meeting of the Council of Ministers that passed the resolution, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar made similar allegations and said Mr. Abraham had filed cases against him and former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa also.
No mandatory procedures
The resolution passed by the Council of Ministers also said that the Governor had failed to take note of the fact that the allegations made by the applicant do not reveal any offence punishable under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The sanction for prosecution, it felt, was premature since the applicant had filed a complaint with the Lokayukta police and had not followed the mandatory procedures laid down by the Supreme Court.
The show-cause notice from the Governor said, “On perusal of the request, it is seen that the allegations against you are of serious nature and prima facie seem plausible.” This leads to an undeniable conclusion that there is pre-judging of the issue, disregarding the report of the Chief Secretary dated July 26, said the resolution.
‘Misuse of office’
The sequence of events leads to an unequivocal conclusion that there is a gross misuse of the constitutional office of the Governor and a concerted effort to destabilise a lawfully elected majority government in Karnataka for political consequences, said the resolution.
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Karnataka
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state politics