The Lokayukta Special Court on Monday issued summons to former CM H D Kumaraswamy and four others in an alleged illegal land denotification case related to Arkavathy Layout.
The Lokayukta police had filed a chargesheet against Kumaraswamy, former Minister C Chennigappa, two land owners and retired IAS officer Jyothi Ramalingam.
Judge N K Sudhindra Rao summoned the accused to be present before the court on August 22.
According to the char- gesheet, Kumaraswamy had cleared the land denotification orders in favour of two original owners in 2007, despite adverse reports. This, according to the chargesheet, not only caused a huge loss to the State exchequer, but also denied sites to 44 site allottees in the Arkavathy Layout on the recommendation of Chennigappa.
Complainant M S Mahadevaswamy has alleged that Kumaraswamy denotified Survey Number 87/4 (b) at Thanisandra in October 2007 which was under acquisition for Arkavathy Layout. According to the chargesheet, as many as 57 sites were carved in Survey No 87/4(b) by the BDA and 44 sites had already been allotted to people.
Of these allotted sites, one Madhavan Nair had already built a house on Site No 2 when Kumaraswamy allegedly ordered the denotification of the land. The police stated that charges under Sections 182, 420, 120 (b) of the IPC and other sections of Prevention of Corruption Act have been proved against the accused.
The original owners Ravi Prakash, a E&T specialist and Sri Ram, an assistant professor at a college, objected to the acquisition stating that they were poor and had no other source of income. But the BDA had set aside their plea and issued final notification and acquisition orders. Later, the Lokayukta probe revealed that they own many buildings in the city.
‘Bhimappa Not Cooperating’
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Monday told the Lokayukta Special Court that former KPSC Chairman Gonal Bhimappa, an accused in the alleged cash-for-job scam in recruitment of 326 Gazetted A and B posts conducted this year, was not cooperating in the investigation. The CID’s Special Public Prosecutor told the court that a custodial interrogation is required. The court, later in the day, granted anticipatory bail to four accused, including him.