Karnataka HC Exempts Yediyurappa From Court Appearance In POCSO Case

The Karnataka High Court on Friday adjourned to July 26 the hearing on former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa’s petition to quash a POCSO case against him.

The court also exempted the veteran BJP leader from personally appearing before a Bengaluru court on July 15.

On July 4, the Fast Track Court 1 for POCSO Act cases had issued a summons for the 81-year-old to appear on July 15. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which is investigating the case, filed a charge sheet against Yediyurappa on June 27.

The High Court had extended its interim order preventing the CID from arresting Yediyurappa, allowing the prosecution to file objections to his petition seeking the quashing of the FIR. This interim order and adjournment ended today.

The CID alleges that Yediyurappa and three other accused paid money to the alleged victim and her mother to buy their silence. He has been charged under Section 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and Sections 354A, 204, and 214 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The co-accused—Arun Y M, Rudresh M, and G Mariswamy, aides of Yediyurappa—are charged under IPC Sections 204 and 214. The case was registered on March 14 based on a complaint by the mother of a 17-year-old girl who alleged that Yediyurappa sexually assaulted her daughter during a meeting on February 2 at his residence in Dollars Colony.

Yediyurappa was questioned for over three hours by the CID on June 17. He has denied the charges and vowed to fight the case legally.

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