Karnataka High Court quashes FIR against former BJP chief Nalin Kumar Kateel on complaint of ‘extortion’ through electoral bonds

Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, unnamed officials of ED, and BJP leaders were also named as accused in the FIR

The High Court of Karnataka quashed the first information report (FIR) filed against Nalin Kumar Kateel, former president of BJP’s State unit, along with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and others, for allegedly ‘extorting’ thousands of crores of rupees from companies by compelling certain business houses and individuals to purchase electoral bonds by misusing government agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Justice M. Nagaprasanna passed the order while allowing the petition filed by Nalin Kumar Kateel, former president of the BJP’s State unit, who has been arraigned as accused number 4 in the FIR.

However, the court restricted the benefit of quashing of the FIR only to Nalin Kumar Kateel as other persons, including Ms. Sitharaman, who were named as accused in the FIR, have not yet filed a petition challenging the FIR.

The copy of the judgment is yet to be released.

Bengaluru city police had registered the FIR on September 28 based on the September 27 direction by a magistrate court, which had acted on a private complaint filed in April by Adarsh R. Iyer, co-president of the Janaadhikaara Sangharsha Parishath (JSP). It was alleged in the complaint that the accused persons had ‘extorted’ around ₹8,000 crore in the name of electoral bonds.

On September 30, the court had stayed the investigation into the FIR by observing that ‘prima facie, the ingredients of Section 383 (extortion) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) are not met in the case at hand, for it to become an offence under Section 384 (punishment for extortion) of the IPC’.

The court, in its interim order, had pointed out that offences of assault, theft, or extortion can be invoked only by the victim, and the complainant in this case is not a victim of ‘extortion’.

Along with Ms. Sitharaman and Mr. Kateel, unnamed officials of the ED, unnamed office-bearers of BJP’s national unit, Mr. Kateel, B.Y. Vijayendra, then vice-president and now president of BJP’s State unit, and unnamed office-bearers of state unit have been arraigned as accused in the FIR.

Published - December 03, 2024 03:25 pm IST