Court Dismisses Conspiracy Allegations Against Karnataka Leaders

A Special Court in Bengaluru has dismissed a complaint alleging that Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Minister K J George, and three senior officials conspired to cause significant advertisement revenue losses to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) between 2015 and 2017.

The court concluded that the allegations, brought by N R Ramesh, a former corporator and BJP leader, were speculative and not backed by concrete evidence. Ramesh claimed that the state government used BBMP-owned bus shelters for advertising without paying the mandatory advertisement fee, allegedly resulting in losses of Rs 68.14 crore during Siddaramaiah's previous tenure as Chief Minister from 2013 to 2018.

Judge Santhosh Gajanan Bhat emphasized that while the procedural lapses in using bus shelters for government publicity may indicate irregularities, they do not amount to corruption under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The court's decision aligns with the Karnataka Lokayukta's earlier closure of the complaint, which also noted the absence of direct evidence of wrongdoing by Siddaramaiah or George.

(With inputs from agencies.)