The State Government has told the High Court of Karnataka that prosecution in four criminal against Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assembly or Council were withdrawn after September 16, 2020.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justice S.R. Krishna Kumar issued the direction while hearing a PIL petition, initiated suo motu by the court based on directions of the apex court, which had ordered that no criminal cases against MPs, MLAs or MLCs should be withdrawn without the permission of the respective High Courts with effect from September 16, 2020.
One criminal case registered in 2017 pertaining to Pratap Simha, BJP’s Member of Parliament from Mysore-Kodagu constituency, and three separate cases registered in 2018 against M.P. Renukacharya, BJP’s MLA from Honnali constituency, were withdrawn on October 19, 2020, according to an affidavit submitted by the government to the court.
