The Karnataka High Court on Thursday refused to quash a case filed under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 against former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa [BS Yediyurappa v. State of Karnataka]. .Justice MI Arun disposed of petitions filed by Yediyurappa and BJP leaders YM Aruna, M Rudresh and G Mariswamy.The Court, however, said that Yediyurappa’s personal appearance should not be insisted upon during the course of the trial, unless necessary..Yediyurappa had approached the High Court to quash both the complaint and the cognizance order, arguing that the allegations were politically motivated and inconsistent.Special Public Prosecutor and Senior Advocate Ravivarma Kumar opposed the plea, submitting that the trial court had applied its mind and that the evidence warranted continuation of proceedings..Senior Advocate CV Nagesh appeared for the former CM..The criminal case against Yediyurappa was registered on the allegations made by a woman that he molested her 17-year-old daughter, who had accompanied her on a visit to the senior BJP leader's residence to seek some help.The girl’s mother, now deceased, lodged a police complaint on March 14, 2024, accusing Yediyurappa of having sexually harassed the girl. She also said in her complaint that the former Chief Minister had tried to hush up the issue by offering her money.Based on this complaint, the police registered a First Information Report (FIR) under Section 8 of the POCSO Act and Section 354(A) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on charges of sexual harassment of a minor..On July 4, 2024, a trial court passed a common cognisance order to take judicial notice of the case registered against Yediyurappa as well as three others accused of offences under Sections 204 (destruction of document to prevent its production as evidence), 214 (offering gifts, property to anyone to shield someone from legal punishment) read with Section 37 (co-operation by doing one of several acts constituting an offence) of the IPC.This was challenged by Yediyurappa before the Karnataka High Court, which quashed the trial court's July 2024 cognisance order on the ground that it was cryptic and passed without any application of mind. The trial court was directed to decide on the aspect of cognisance again.On February 28, Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge (First Track Special Court) Judge NM Ramesh passed a fresh cognisance order and directed Yediyurappa and others accused to appear before the court on March 15.In March this year, the High Court had stayed this order..Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.
