2022 Protest March: SC Stays Proceedings against K’taka CM Siddaramaiah

The Supreme Court on Monday stayed proceedings against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and others related to a protest march held in the state in 2022.

A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and P K Mishra issued a notice to the Karnataka government and the complainant in the case.

The apex court also stayed the high court’s order, which had imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on him as well as Congress general secretary and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala, state ministers M B Patil and Ramalinga Reddy, and directed them to appear before a special court on March 6, 2024.

The case was registered against the Congress leaders following their participation in a march to lay siege to the then chief minister Basavaraj Bommai’s residence in Bengaluru, calling for the resignation of K S Eshwarappa, who was then the rural development and panchayat raj minister in the southern state. The protest was organized after a contractor, Santosh Patil, died by suicide, alleging that Eshwarappa had demanded a 40 per cent commission for a public work in his village.

According to the police, the case involved road blockages and inconvenience caused to commuters.