In fresh trouble for Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday dismissed his petition seeking quashing of the FIR in connection with an illegal denotification case. The court also imposed Rs 25,000 cost upon him. Justice John Michael Cunha dismissed the petition filed by Yediyurappa in 2017.
The case pertains to alleged illegal denotification of 1.11 acres of land (17 guntas in three different survey numbers) at Matadahalli near RT Nagar in Bengaluru. The Lokayukta police had registered an FIR against Yediyurappa, JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy and others, based on a complaint filed by social activist Jayakumar Hiremath in 2015.
The land in question, originally held by Thimmareddy, Nagappa and Muniswamappa, was acquired in 1976-77 for forming the housing layout. The acquisition proceedings had reached the finality with final notification and distribution of compensation. In 2007, one Rajashekaraiah filed an application for denotification of the land claiming that he had got a court decree for the land in his favour. The then chief minister Kumaraswamy twice called for the file. However, denotification could not be processed.
Subsequently, when Yediyurappa became the chief minister, the file was placed before him. Yediyurappa passed the order for denotification in 2010. Within 20 days, the land was transferred in the name of Vimala, mother-in-law of Kumaraswamy. Vimala then transferred the land to her son T S Channappa.
The High Court had dismissed Yediyurappa’s petition seeking quashing of another FIR pertaining to illegal denotification of land in December 2020.