The Karnataka High Court on Friday dismissed the case against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, and other individuals who were charged under the Karnataka Epidemic Diseases Act, 2020, and various sections of the Indian Penal Code.
The charges were related to a padyatra conducted in January 2022, where they demanded the implementation of the Mekedatu project, despite the alleged enforcement of Covid-19 restrictions.
A single bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna quashed the case stating,
“Whoever would contravene Sub section 1 of Section 5 would be punished is what the statute mandates. In terms of the statute there is no notification was issued by the State government then barring such activities. The notification which the State relies upon is the one issued under the Disaster Management Act and not under the Epidemic Diseases Act. Therefore unless notification under Epidemic Diseases Act is issued barring such activities, taking recourse to the Disaster Management Act and bring it into Epidemic Diseases Act is unavailable.”
“For the aforesaid reason the registration of the crime and the filing of charghseet by the police for violation of Epidemic Diseases Act is rendered unsustainable. All other offences alleged under IPC are offshoot of Section 5 of the Epidemic Diseases Act. That having been rendered unsustainable all other offences would also follow suit,” it further added.
Thirteen petitioners approached the court to challenge the complaint filed by Vijaykumar, Tashildar of Ramanagara district, on January 12. The complaint alleged that despite the refusal of permission and in violation of government orders implemented to contain the spread of Covid-19, the petitioners proceeded with the Padyatra.
The plea argued that the magistrate’s order, which took cognizance of the case, lacked proper judicial consideration and failed to assess whether the chargesheet presented sufficient evidence to establish prima facie guilt against the petitioners. It contended that the order dated March 17, 2020, was illegal and should be quashed.
In addition to dismissing the case against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, the court also granted relief in four other petitions filed by Shivakumar, challenging similar charges under the Epidemic Diseases Act. The court quashed the prosecution in these cases as well.
