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that prosecution in four criminal against Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assembly or Council were withdrawn after September 16, 2020.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based on directions of the apex court, which had ordered that no criminal cases against MPs, MLAs or MLCs should be withdrawn without the permission of the respective High Courts with effect from September 16, 2020.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and three separate cases registered in 2018 against M.P. Renukacharya, BJP’s MLA from Honnali constituency, were withdrawn on October 19, 2020, according to an affidavit submitted by the government to the court.
The prosecution of Mr. Renukacharya an Mr. Simha were withdrawn based on two separate orders issued on May 5, 2020, and August 31, 2020.
The bench, while taking note of these four cases, summoned records of these cases from the trial courts in Hunsur in Mysuru district and Honnali in Davangere district.
As per the case against Mr. Simha, the MP is accused of committing offences under Section 353 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and Sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way) of the Indian Penal Code.
Mr. Renukacharya was booked under Sections 171-H (illegal payments in connection with an election) and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) in one of the three cases that were withdrawn.
In the two other cases, the MLA representing Honnali was booked under Sections 353, 143 (unlawful assembly), 341 (wrongful restraint), and 427 (mischief causing loss or damage to the amount of ₹50 or upwards) of the Indian Penal Code.
The bench directed the Registrar General of the High Court to submit details of the number of cases in which the State Government has filed an application under Section 321 of CrPC for withdrawing cases against former or present MPs, MLAs and MLCs, but such applications are pending for disposal before special courts on or after September 16, 2020.
