BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court on Friday restrained the coercive arrest proceedings against former Chief Minister and senior BJP leader B. S. Yediyurappa in a case registered under the provisions of IPC and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The court directed him to appear before the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for investigation on June 17.
Justice Krishna S Dixit passed the interim order after hearing the arguments of the prosecution and also the counsel on the petitions filed by accused Yediyurappa seeking to quash the crime registered against him and also for an anticipatory bail petition.
Before this, the prosecution justified the arrest warrant secured from the special court on the ground that Yediyurappa did not turn up for investigation and left for Delhi after the notice was issued to him to appear for probe. Countering it, the counsel of Yediyurappa argued that he himself stated in the letter addressed to the investigating agency in response to the notice that he would appear on June 17.
The special court to try cases registered under the POCSO Act in Bengaluru has issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against Yediyurappa, on Thursday.
Sadashivanagar police have booked Yediyurappa under Section 8 of the POCSO Act and Section 354A of the IPC based on a complaint dated March 14, 2024, filed by the mother of a 17-year-old girl alleging that Yediyurappa had sexually assaulted her daughter on February 2, 2024, at his Dollars Colony Residence in Bengaluru.
Meanwhile, the high court issued notice to the CID to file objections if any to the petitions filed by Yediyurappa and also the son of the complainant seeking directions to the investigating agency to expedite the probe