The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday quashed the criminal defamation case filed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over the publication of advertisements accusing the previous BJP government of corruption [Siddaramaiah & others v. BJP].
Justice M Nagaprasanna allowed the petitions filed by the Congress leaders seeking quashing of the criminal proceedings.
The case was registered against KPCC, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah over allegations that they were responsible for publishing newspaper advertisements containing derogatory allegations against the BJP-led State government, which was in power between 2019 and 2023 under former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
The advertisements had described the then BJP government as a “40 per cent commission sarkar”, alleging that commissions were being charged in public procurement, allotment of contract works and supply of COVID-19-related materials, among other activities.
The advertisements also alleged that the BJP government had looted ₹1,500 crore from the people of Karnataka through corrupt practices.
Further, they accused the government of introducing a system of “score cards” and “rate cards” for securing government posts, allegedly referring to bribes paid for appointments. Similar allegations were also made by Rahul Gandhi during a public speech, according to the complaint.
The BJP had filed a private complaint in May 2023 against the Congress party, its Karnataka unit and the Congress leaders. A trial court subsequently ordered the registration of criminal defamation proceedings in 2024.
The KPCC, Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah approached the High Court seeking to quash the case, contending that the complaint had been filed with the intention of harassing them.
The petitioners argued that the advertisements contained allegations of corruption against the then Chief Minister and members of the BJP Cabinet, rather than against the BJP as a political party. They questioned the BJP's legal standing to initiate criminal defamation proceedings, contending that the party was not the person or entity directly aggrieved by the alleged defamatory statements.
On February 17, the High Court had quashed the criminal defamation case against Gandhi.
Senior Advocate K Shashi Kiran Shetty and Advocate Surya Mukundaraj appeared for Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah.
The KPCC was represented by Advocates SA Ahamed and Sanjay B Yadav. Advocate Vinod Kumar M appeared for BJP.
The detailed order is awaited.