Court quashes cases against HDK, wife

BANGALORE: In a major relief to the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S), the Karnataka High Court Friday quashed two cases against former chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy. His legislator-wife Anita was also accused in one of the cases.The cases were "politically motivated", Justice V. Jagannathan said, ending proceedings in the special Lokayukta court against Kumaraswamy, now state JD-S president and Lok Sabha member, and Anita, a member of the state assembly.Kumaraswamy's father H.D. Deve Gowda, former prime minister, heads the JD-S.The judge imposed a fine of Rs.100,000 on K. Vinod Kumar, a Bangalore advocate, who had filed the cases against the couple in the Lokayukta court on Aug 8.Vinod Kumar had charged Kumaraswamy with favouring Janthakal Mining Company in renewing its mining license when he was chief minister in 2006-07.Kumaraswamy was also accused of granting large tracts of land in Bangalore to Vishwabharathi Housing Cooperative Society which in return allotted a site to Anita. Anita was an accused in this case.The Lokayukta special court judge N.K. Sudhindra Rao had ordered a police probe into Vinod Kumar's complaint against which the Kumaraswamy couple moved the high court.Fearing arrest, they had secured anticipatory bail from the high court.Quashing the proceedings in the Lokayukta court, Justice Jagannathan said an "unseen hand" seemed to be behind Vinod Kumar's complaint.He expressed surprise at how Vinod Kumar had got hold of copies of communication between Kumaraswamy when he was chief minister and his political secretary without applying for them under the Right to Information Act (RTI).Describing the cases as "politically motivated", Justice Jagannathan said he would not allow misuse of Section 200 of Criminal Procedure Code (pertaining to private complaints) to harass public persons.He levied a fine of Rs. 100,000 on Vinod Kumar and directed him to the amount the Kumaraswamy couple.Justice Jagannathan said several documents produced by Vinod Kumar were not authenticated.A relieved Kumaraswamy said the high court decision was "a victory of truth".