The Karnataka High Court on Monday dismissed a petition seeking a direction to the State’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to furnish the copies of “records of investigation” said to have been conducted into a complaint about receipt of a “costly” watch by then Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Justice Aravid Kumar passed the order while dismissing a petition filed by Nataraja Sharma S, a city-based advocate. The court, however, said the petitioner can opt for other remedies available in law, including the Right to Information Act, to get the information.
The ACB, in April this year, had communicated to the petitioner that it cannot probe the complaint as the issue involved did not come under the purview of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Later, neither the ACB nor the Home Department responded to his representations seeking “records of investigation.”
The petitioner had given a complaint to the ACB based on the reports published in the newspapers about the statement given by Opposition leaders on a Hublot watch, said to be worth about ₹70 lakh, received by Mr. Siddaramaiah.