By IANS,
Bangalore : The Karnataka High Court Monday adjourned hearing on the anticipatory bail application of scam-hit former state chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa to Sep 5 in a graft case related to a tender in the Upper Bhadra irrigation project during his tenure.
Justice L. Narayanaswamy posted the case to Sep 5 after Yeddyurappa’s counsel Ravi B. Nayak sought more time to further his arguments on a private complaint filed by Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) lawmaker Y.S.V. Dutta, alleging that the former chief minister and his family members received Rs.13 crore from a private firm which was awarded the contract work despite being the higher bidder for the tender.
Yeddyurappa sought the anticipatory bail after a division bench of Justices K.L. Manjunath and H.S. Kempanna Aug 26 rejected his petition seeking quashing of the first information report (FIR) filed by the Lokayukta (ombudsman) police Aug 10 under section 13 (1) of the Karnataka Lokayukta Act, 1994, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
The complaint, registered in the additional city court and sessions court Aug 8, alleged that the contract work in the project was awarded to RNS Jyothi for a whopping Rs.1,033 crore, contrary to the norm of granting the tender to the lowest bidder.
Dutta alleged that the private firm had, in turn, rewarded Yeddyurappa and his family members by transferring Rs.13 crore to Dhavalgari Developers Ltd, owned by his sons B.Y. Vijayendra and B.Y. Raghavendra and his son-in-law R. Sohan Kumar.
Lower court judge N.K. Sudhindra Rao, who also functions as special Lokayukta (ombudsman) court for speedy trial of graft cases, directed the Lokayutka police to investigate the case.
Yeddyurappa resigned as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) first chief minister in south India July 31 after he was indicted by former state ombudsman Justice (Retd) N. Santosh Hedge July 27 in the multi-crore mining scam in the state.
Raghavendra is the BJP’s Lok Sabha member from Shimoga constituency.