Former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, accused of sexually harassing a minor, has been granted protection from arrest until the next hearing in his case on June 17, the Karnataka High Court ruled today.
A non-bailable warrant had been issued against the 81-year-old Mr. Yediyurappa on Thursday under the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act. His son, BY Raghvendra, has asserted that the complaint is baseless.
The Special Investigation Team of the CID sought an arrest warrant for Mr. Yediyurappa after he failed to appear for questioning on Wednesday. The High Court, however, stated, “The court cannot jump to the conclusion that a case is made out for arrest or detention or for custodial interrogation of the petitioner who happens to be the former Chief Minister of the state and in the late evening of his life with ailments natural to that age.”
According to police, Mr. Yediyurappa has been charged under the POCSO Act and Section 354 A (Sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) based on a complaint filed on March 14 by the mother of a 17-year-old girl. The mother alleged that Mr. Yediyurappa sexually assaulted her daughter during a meeting on February 2 at his residence in Dollars Colony.
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Sandeep Patil, Mr. Yediyurappa’s lawyer, contested the allegations, stating, “I have placed it on record, she [the mother] is in the habit of filing cases. I have given details. Blackmailing is her avocation.”
The 54-year-old woman who filed the complaint died of lung cancer last month. Mr. Yediyurappa’s lawyer argued that the investigation appears suspicious and politically motivated. He highlighted that Mr. Yediyurappa has cooperated with the investigation and had voluntarily informed the Investigation Officer of his intent to appear on June 17. Despite this, the investigating agency pursued a warrant, raising doubts about their intentions.
Mr. Yediyurappa claims that the girl came to him seeking help with some cases of cheating but behaved in a way that led him to believe she might not be mentally sound. His office has dismissed the allegations as baseless, pointing out that the mother and daughter have filed over 50 complaints in the past.
The case has drawn sharp reactions from both Congress and the BJP. BJP Karnataka posted on X (formerly Twitter), “Shocked by the humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress leaders are engrossed in hatching one conspiracy after another against the BJP.” The post further alleged that the Congress, resentful towards the BJP, is attempting to arrest Mr. Yediyurappa based on a complaint from a “mentally unstable woman,” and accused the Congress of targeting him after Rahul Gandhi faced court proceedings for spreading misinformation against the BJP in Karnataka.
