B.S Yeddyurappa cannot claim immunity from prosecution on the ground of lack of sanction as defrauding the exchequer is not part of a public servant's official duties, submits the CBI before the Supreme Court

Opposing former Karnataka chief minister B.S Yeddyurappa’s plea for quashing of the charge-sheet against him and his two sons, the CBI told the Supreme Court on Friday that it had evidence to back its charges accusing the former CM of unilaterally de-notifying a piece of land marked for acquisition by Bangalore Development Authority for Arkavati Layout, and then allowing his sons and son-in-law to sell it at an exorbitant price to South West Mining Ltd.

 

Yeddyurappa has sought quashing of the cases registered by the CBI against him on the ground of lack of sanction from the Governor for prosecuting him.

 

Rebutting this contention of Mr. Yeddyurappa, the Central Bureau of Investigation has submitted before the Supreme Court that former Karnataka chief minister B.S Yeddyurappa cannot claim immunity from prosecution on the ground of lack of sanction as defrauding the exchequer was not part of a public servant's official duties. 

 

File picture : former Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa

Under the Criminal Procedure Code, the governor's sanction is required to prosecute any public servant, including chief minister or other ministers. Yeddyurappa is accused of granting land at throwaway prices and hastening environmental clearances to certain companies in return for funds worth crores of rupees being put into some family run trusts. He is also accused of imposing a ban on mining imports into the state to benefit some companies.

These actions are alleged to have cost the state exchequer a loss of an estimated Rs 876.90 crore. CBI filed a chargesheet in May 2012 under court directions against Yeddyurappa, his sons BY Vijayendra and BY Raghavendra and son-in-law RN Sohan Kumar. 

Among those who figure in the chargesheet are Prerna Educational and Social Trust, JSW Steel, South West Mining Ltd and certain other local companies which paid unspecified amounts into the trusts. 

Yeddyurappa later moved the Apex court seeking quashing of the charge sheet in the case on  the ground that the governor's sanction was not obtained, as needed under Section 197 of the Criminal Procedure Code to prosecute a public servant. CBI has stoutly opposed his contentions in its affidavit filed on Friday. 

The CBI also said in its affidavit filed before the Court that it had documentary evidence to prove that the Yeddyurappa family-run Prerana Educational and Social Trust had received Rs 10 crore in donation from JSW Steel Ltd through various firms as a quid pro quo for favours shown by the then CM to JSW. "It is a matter which needs to be taken to its logical end," the agency said.

 

The CBI has also claimed that Yedduurappa had misused his official position as urban development minister to de-notify government land to enable his family members to purchase plots and later sell them at concessional rates in return for quid pro quo investments in the trusts. "Yeddyurappa was directly involved in the de-notification of the land, which was purchased by his kin by resorting to forgery and other illegal means and got undue benefits. Yeddyurappa himself took the decision to de-notify the land, bypassing the De-notification Committee which alone was competent to consider requests for de-notification of land marked for acquisition," the investigation agency said. 

 Yeddyurappa has been charged with criminal conspiracy and of committing offences punishable under Sections 13(1(d) and 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. 

National Green Tribunal issues notice to Centre among others on proposed neutrino observatory

The southern bench of the National Green Tribunal at Chennai on Friday issued notices to the central and state governments on a petition challenging the environmental clearance granted to the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) project in Tamil Nadu.

 

Representational Picture of Neutrinos

The Rs. 1,500 crore project is aimed at building a world class underground laboratory (at a depth of 4,300 feet) at Bodi Hills in Theni district to study neutrinos, tiny electrically neutral and nearly massless particles which cannot be broken further.

The project, jointly supported by the department of atomic energy and the department of science and technology, was given final approval by the Centre in January this year. The project is facing opposition from environmentalists as the site chosen is located in the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats.

G Sundarajan of Theni, who filed the petition, said the Union government granted the clearance to the project in June 2011 without following the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) guidelines. There was no detailed study to find out the impact of blasting more than 6 lakh tonnes of rock on the aquifers, rivers and reservoirs in the region, he said. The project would affect groundwater and surface water bodies which fed three river systems: Periyar, Vaigai and Vaippar in Idukki district of Kerala and 12 dams in Tamil Nadu, all located within a radius of 50km from the proposed site.

He said the expert appraisal committee provided the clearance without satisfying itself about the impact of the project. Categorisation of the project as a 'basic science project' was wrong as no statute contained such classification, he said.

A Bench of the NGT comprising of judicial member Justice M Chockalingam and expert member R Nagendran issued notices to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary, State-Level Environmental Impact Assessment Authority, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board and Institute of Mathematical Science, asking them to file their replies. 

The bench then posted the matter to April 7 for further hearing.