The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a keep on the trial proceedings towards Karnataka’s former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa in a case pertaining to the alleged sexual assault of a 17-year-old woman, Live Law reported.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi handed the order after listening to a petition filed by the Bharatiya Janata Party chief towards the Karnataka High Court’s refusal to quash the case towards him.
A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya issued discover to the Karnataka authorities to look at whether or not the matter ought to be remanded again to the High Court for recent consideration, in response to Live Law.
The High Court had on November 13 upheld a February order of a particular courtroom in Bengaluru that had taken cognisance of a chargesheet within the case and had directed Yediyurappa to look earlier than it.
The case towards Yediyurappa was registered on March 14, 2024, below the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act for allegedly assaulting a minor woman, who’s a rape survivor in a separate case from 2015.
He additionally faces expenses of sexual harassment below Section 354A of the Indian Penal Code.
The 82-year-old chief is accused of getting assaulted the woman on February 2, 2024, when she and her mom met him to hunt assist in the 2015 rape case.
During proceedings earlier than the Supreme Court, advocate Sidharth Luthra, representing Yediyurappa, submitted that the High Court had ignored key proof, Bar and Bench reported.
“There are sure statements which prosecution suppresses,” mentioned Luthra. “High Court has ignored info that there are folks current saying nothing as such occurred. He [Yediyurappa] has been 4 instances chief minister.”
The advocate additionally claimed that the BJP chief was “struggling as a consequence of political vendetta”, Live Law reported.
In response, the chief justice requested: “How are you able to compel High Court to carry a mini trial?”
During the listening to on November 13 within the High Court, the decide directed the particular courtroom to not insist on Yediyurappa’s look in the course of the trial except “his presence is crucial”. It additionally clarified that he’s free to hunt discharge earlier than the trial courtroom.
On February 7, the High Court had granted Yediyurappa safety from arrest and despatched the matter again to the trial courtroom, noting that the particular courtroom had erred in taking cognisance of the chargesheet. It had then directed the courtroom to move a reasoned order.
The trial courtroom had taken cognisance once more on February 28, after which the High Court stayed the proceedings in March.
POCSO case towards Yediyurappa
The complainant has mentioned that she and her mom met Yediyurappa at his Bengaluru residence on February 2, 2024.
While her mom was explaining the main points of the 2015 rape case, she was requested to attend in one other room, the place the previous chief minister allegedly molested her.
Yediyurappa has denied the allegation. He instructed investigators in June 2024 that he had solely been serving to the household with authorized assist within the earlier rape case.
Meanwhile, Yediyurappa and his three associates, Arun YM, Rudresh M and Y Mariswamy, had been additionally charged below provisions of the Indian Penal Code associated to destruction of proof and providing bribes for concealing the offence for allegedly destroying a video recorded by the woman’s mom in the course of the confrontation with the previous chief minister after the alleged incident of sexual assault.
