Graft case: Karnataka HC puts off bail plea of dy tahsildar

Highlights

• The Karnataka High Court on Monday adjourned the hearing of the petition filed by Deputy Tahsildar PS Mahesh, accused in the DC office bribery case, to Wednesday, for want of a copy of the interim order passed by the Supreme Court.

• Separate Special Leave Petitions (SLPs) were filed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and Additional Director General of Police Seemanth Kumar Singh, questioning the scathing remarks made by Justice HP Sandesh, and also certain directions issued by him.

• When the bail petition was taken up for hearing at 2.30pm by Justice Sandesh, counsel for the ACB informed that the Supreme Court passed the interim order today (Monday). However, a copy of the order was not placed before the court, so Justice Sandesh adjourned the hearing to Wednesday.Following oral remarks made against the ACB and ADGP over his credentials during the hearing of the bail plea, Justice Sandesh had disclosed that he had received a ‘transfer threat’ through the sitting judge of the high court, from a person in Delhi.

• Meanwhile, the court had summoned ‘B’ reports (closure reports) filed by ACB since from its establishment in 2016 till date, and also service records of the ADGP from the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms. Both the ACB and ADGP moved the Supreme Court against Justice Sandesh’s remarks and directions.Apart from this, former DC J Manjunath, who was arrested in the bribery case, also moved the Supreme Court, questioning remarks made by the judge against him.

CASE IN SUPREME COURT

The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the orders of the Karnataka HC calling for the closure rep­o­rts filed by the ACB in a corruption case and the service records its officers including the ADGP Kumar Singh. A bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli said the high court judge, hearing the bail petition of an accused, made some ‘irrelevant observations’ beyond the scope of the bail application. The top court, however, refused to expunge the remarks and transfer the case to some other bench in the HC, saying it has to ‘balance the sides’.

“The proceedings before the Karnataka HC, which are not linked with the proceedings with the accused, are stayed. We request the high court to consider the bail application of the accused. List it after three weeks,” the bench said. The observations were made by Karnataka HC’s Justice H P Sandesh while hearing a bail plea. Besides adverse oral observations, the HC judge had issued directions ranging from seeking reports on prosecution/closure of cases, probed by the ACB, since 2016 and summoning confidential service records of the ADGP while considering the regular bail application of an accused, the apex court was told by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the state government.