BENGALURU: A Special Court that exclusively deals with criminal cases related to elected MPs and MLAs in the state on Monday issued a summons to Housing Minister V Somanna to appear before it over a disproportionate assets case filed in 2013. The court also rejected a ‘B’ report filed by the Lokayukta police recommending the closure of the case.
A Right To Information (RTI) activist Ramakrishna had filed a complaint against Somanna before the Lokayukta in 2013. He had shared documents pointing to Somanna’s wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income. But Lokayukta officials closed the case by filing the ‘B’ report.
Taking serious exception to the ‘B’ report, Ramakrishna had approached the special court and submitted documents to support his claim while seeking further action against the minister. After verifying the facts, the court rejected the ‘B’ report filed by the Lokayukta police and summoned Somanna to appear before the court in person on April 16.
Somanna faces a special criminal case for offences punishable under Sections 13(1)(b) (d) and (e) R/w Sec.13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The summons was issued to the minister along with a copy of the complaint and documents pertaining to his properties before and after he became MLA, and now a minister in the ruling BJP government.
The complainant alleged that Somanna, while submitting the assets and liabilities statement, gave a false report with an ulterior motive. By comparing these documents, it can be seen that the statements were concocted and there were large discrepancies, states Ramakrishna’s complaint.
He has submitted that the percentage of disproportionate assets was 204 per cent. The complainant had filed a private complaint before the Lokayukta in 2013, alleging offences punishable under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. Several attempts by The New Indian Express to contact Somanna over phone went unanswered.