Bengaluru :In a relief to BJP leader B S Yeddyurappa, Karnataka High Court today set aside the sanction given by then Governor H R Bhardwaj for his prosecution in several cases of alleged illegal denotification of land, and asked the incumbent Vajubhai Vala to have a fresh look at it.
“Non-consideration of the relevant matters made the order of sanction illegal and resulted in failure of justice. We are thus of the opinion that the exercise of the power by the Governor was not in accordance with well-settled principles for sanctioning prosecution,” the High Court said.
“We accordingly set aside the order of sanction, dated January 21, 2011, and remit the matter back to his Excellency, the Governor for reconsideration in the light of our discussions above. The writ petitions are, therefore, allowed in part,” the bench, comprising Acting Chief Justice S K Mukherjee and Justice Vineet Saran, said.
Advocates Sirajin Basha and Balraj, in 2011, had petitioned Bhardwaj to sanction prosecution against then Chief Minister Yeddyurappa over allegations of denotification of land acquired by the government, apart from other charges.
Consequently, Bhardwaj accorded sanction to prosecute Yedyurappa.
In the same year, Bhardwaj had shot off a letter to then Chief Minister, raising objections against a state Cabinet resolution requesting him not to give permission for the prosecution of the Chief Minister, saying it was unwarranted.
Yeddyurappa was the first Karnataka Chief Minister against whom a Governor had granted sanction for prosecution.
PTI