Denotification haunts HD Kumaraswamy again as court rejects ‘B’ report

BENGALURU: Chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, who is fighting hard to save his 14-month-old coalition government, found himself at the receiving end on Saturday with a special court deciding to continue proceedings in a land denotification case in which he’s the main accused.
The special court for elected representatives rejected the B-report (closure report) filed in the Halage Vaderahalli denotification case by the Lokayukta police, which cited lack of evidence. Special judge Ramachandra D Huddar also directed the complainant, M Mahadeva Swamy from Santhemarahalli in Chamarajanagar, to appear before the court to record his statement.
During his first stint as CM, Kumaraswamy had passed an order denotifying 2.24 acres in two survey numbers (128 and 137) at Halage Vaderahalli in Bengaluru in favour of a few land owners, who in turn, sold the same to builders. Kumaraswamy had reportedly approved the denotification on October 1 in 2007, a week before he relinquished office.
The land was acquired by BDA for formation of residential sites under Banashankari V Stage Layout for which a preliminary notification was issued in April 1989 and the final one in 1997. Swamy had filed a complaint before the special court for Lokyukta cases in 2012 claiming that the CM’s action had caused a loss of Rs 56.6 crore to the state exchequer.
He contended that documents submitted by the authorities, including BDA, showed the land was sold to third parties on the same day an application seeking denotification was submitted to Kumaraswamy. He had overlooked vital facts despite the urban development department giving an adverse opinion on the issue, he said. Lokayukta police, who were directed to investigate the matter, filed a B-report stating it was a false complaint. However, the complainant submitted a protest petition.
Special judge Huddar noted the investigating officer recorded the statement of witnesses and collected documents in a casual manner without applying his mind. Rejecting the B report, Huddar also passed an order taking cognizance of the offence under sections 120B, 406, 420, 483, 465, 468 and 471 of Indian Penal Code (IPC), sections 13(1)( c ),13(1) (d), 13(1) (e) and 13(2) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and sections 3 and 4 of Karnataka Land (Restriction and Transfer) Act, 1981.