M A I N   N E W S

Be in court tomorrow, Yeddyurappa told
Tribune News Service

Bangalore, August 27
The Lokayukta Special Court granted exemption to former Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa from personal appearance for today but made it clear that he would have to appear before it on August 29 in compliance with a summon to him on a private complaint over his alleged involvement in land scams in Karnataka.

Yeddyurappa, who spent a few days in a hospital recently, once again got admitted to the Sagar Hospital here.

Judge N K Sudhindra Rao granted the exemption on health grounds on an application by Yeddyurappa. He, however, rejected his prayers for exemption from personal appearance.

Yeddyurappa's counsel Ravi B Naik informed the court that his client was suffering from “high fever, hypertension and diabetes and had been advised rest and not in a position to appear before it”. This was objected to by the complainant Sirajin Basha’s counsel C H Hanumantharaya.

The judge granted exemption to Yeddyurappa only for today and directed him to appear before it on Monday. It also directed Superintendent of Police, Lokayukta, investigating the complaint to be in court on that date.

The court on August 8 had issued summons to Yeddyurappa and 14 others in connection with a private complaint against them.

Naik said that since Yeddyurappa's bail application before the High Court was reserved for verdict on August 29, his appearance today would render the application infructuous.

The 14 accused appeared before the court and filed applications seeking bail. Basha in his complaint had alleged that Yeddyurappa had indulged in irregularities in de-notification of lands acquired by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA).

When judge Sudhindra Rao sought clarification from Naik on whether the application was filed on health grounds or because the matter was reserved for verdict in High Court on August 29, counsel withdrew the second ground and pleaded that the application be considered on health grounds alone.

Hanumantharaya objected to the application, submitting that physical appearance of the accused was of prime importance. “The complaints filed are not all of a sudden, the accused cannot start suffering from fever today morning”, he said.

His submission that “non-appearance was thought of in the light of bail application becoming infructuous and being done with a “motive” led to heated arguments with Naik, who demanded to know how a health ailment could be questioned and asserting that he has no right to oppose the application.

Basha had alleged that de-notification of lands of BDA by Yeddyurappa (as Chief Minister) had caused a loss of Rs 124.37 crore to the state exchequer. He also alleged that these lands were subsequently purchased by "benamidars" of Yeddyurappa's family members.

LAND SCAMS

• Yeddyurappa's counsel told the court that his client was suffering from “high fever & hypertension and was not in a position to appear before it”.
• The judge granted exemption to Yeddyurappa from personal appearance on Aug 27 but directed him to be present in court on Aug 29 (Monday)
• Summons had been issued to the former CM on Aug 8