Court turns down BSY, kin plea for anticipatory bail
The CBI special court on Wednesday dismissed the anticipatory bail applications of former chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and his kin. The CBI special court judge D.R. Venkata Sudarshan, in a 75-page order, held that the accused were ‘influential persons’.
The court said it was taking into consideration the magnitude of the case and ensuring free and fair investigation while rejecting the anticipatory bail. The court said it was not proper to consider the bail granted earlier in a similar case by the Lokayukta court. The CBI court quoted a Supreme Court judgment in a case involving former Himachal Pradesh minister Anil Sharma. The court accepted CBI’s argument that Mr Yeddyurappa, a former CM, and his son Raghavendra, a sitting MP, were ‘influential persons’ and stated that the possibility of tampering with evidence could not be ruled out. However, “mere rejection of anticipatory bail applications cannot be a ground for arrest”, the court added.
The court also turned down the arguments of Mr Yeddyurappa’s counsel that it was a “further investigation”. The court dismissed both the applications – filed by Mr Yeddyurappa, Mr B.Y. Raghavendra and Mr B.Y. Vijayendra and another by Mr Sohan Kumar. Meanwhile, Mr Yeddyurappa, his two sons and son-in-law have filed a petition in the high court challenging the CBI court verdict rejecting their anticipatory bail pleas. The matter may come up for hearing on Thursday.
Sources said that while Mr Yeddyurappa’s arrest is imminent, in view of CBI’s submission that custodial interrogation was necessary in the case, the investigating agency will wait until the disposal of the appeal before the High Court.
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