Karnataka Cabinet To Withdraw 60 Criminal Cases, 11 Linked To Dy CM DK Shivakumar’s Supporters
The 11 cases were from 2019 when Shivakumar's supporters had clashed with the police in Bengaluru and other places
The Karnataka cabinet has decided to withdraw 60 police cases linked to farmers, students and Kannada activists among others, Law and Parliament Affairs Minister H K Patil said. The Minister did not share further details on the cases.
"We have withdrawn 60 cases which were filed by the government; they include cases booked against farmers, students, Kannada activists. We have withdrawn the cases in various police stations," Patil told reporters briefing cabinet decisions.
A key document accessed by NDTV showed 11 of the total 60 cases cleared for withdrawal are linked to Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar's supporters and Congress workers, and include charges of rioting and attack on policemen.
These 11 cases were from 2019 when Shivakumar's supporters had clashed with the police in Bengaluru and other places, protesting his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case. Rioting, arson, and stone-pelting were reported during the protests.
Which Cases Will Be Withdrawn?
The following cases will be withdrawn:
Case related to mob violence over cattle transport in Kalaburagi in 2019.
Charges of rioting, assault on police, and property damage in the case after a mob attacked a police station following the seizure of cattle and a vehicle.
Some cases related to farmer agitations.
Cases related to the violence during the 2018 Ramdurga Assembly election victory celebration, involving communal clashes and alleged violation of prohibitory orders by a BJP leader's supporters, are set to be pulled too.
Activist and advocate Girish Bhardwaj has decided to challenge the cabinet decision in the Karnataka High Court. On a social media post on X, he wrote, "The Karnataka Government has once again committed a serious blunder by withdrawing 62 criminal cases through cabinet decision under Section 321 of the CrPC / Section 360 of the BNSS, despite clear opposition from both the Police Department and the Prosecution. Several of these cases pertain to rioting, unlawful assembly, and other grave offences.
Earlier, in my PIL (Girish Bharadwaj vs. State of Karnataka), the High Court of Karnataka had cautioned the State Government against the misuse of Section 321 CrPC, connected with the Hubballi riots cases and other serious criminal cases, and had even declared the cabinet’s withdrawal decision void ab initio (non est from inception).
Despite this judicial warning, the State Government has once again chosen to override institutional objections from law enforcement and prosecution. The pressing question remains: to please whom has the Government taken this arbitrary and unlawful step?
"Unfortunately, the state is now moving for political appeasement by withdrawing such cases. Last time, the Karnataka High Court had made it very clear that such orders are violative of the rules and criminal jurisprudence. Again, I will have to challenge this before the high court to ensure the order is quashed," he said in a video message.
