BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court on Friday stayed the defamation case filed by the BJP’s Karnataka unit against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for allegedly publishing advertisements during the 2023 assembly election campaign under the title “corruption rate card”.
Justice SR Krishna Kumar stayed the proceedings of the case against Siddaramaiah after hearing the petition filed by him questioning the legality of the case filed against him by the BJP.
The BJP had filed the complaint against the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, alleging defamation through newspaper advertisements on May 5, 2023.
The advertisements were published during the 2023 assembly elections campaign, accusing the BJP of corruption, demanding up to 40% commission from contractors, etc.
The BJP had alleged in its complaint that false and reckless allegations were made in the advertisements issued by the accused persons in all the mainstream newspapers during campaigning, under the title “Corruption rate card” and making accusations of “40 per cent Commission Sarkara”.
The high court had stayed the proceedings against Rahul Gandhi in January 2025 and against DK Shivakumar in the first week of this month, after hearing their petition against the case filed against them.