Karnataka High Court stays BS Yediyurappa's arrest in POCSO case

The Karnataka high court on Friday issued a stay order against the arrest of former chief minister BS Yediyurappa in connection with the POCSO case.

The veteran BJP leader has to appear before investigators on June 17, the high court ordered.

“We had approached the High Court. We had brought the petition challenging the malafide action on the part of the investigating agencies. The court was today of the opinion that since Yediyurappa, being a former chief minister, keeping in mind his age and also his conduct of having taken part in the investigation, this is not a case where the investigator should have gone to court and got a warrant,” Sandeep C Patil, Yediyurappa's lawyer, told ANI.

“There should not be any kind of arrest as he is cooperating. So therefore any such warrant or otherwise is put on hold. And any course steps also the investigator cannot take from now on...He has already written a letter, communicating that I am going to appear on the 17th. In all probability, he will appear on the 17th,” he added.

The high court order comes a day after a Bengaluru court issued a non-bailable warrant against Yediyurappa in connection with an alleged sexual assault case with a minor girl.

In March this year, the mother of the girl filed a complaint in Bengaluru's Sadashivanagar police station, alleging that Yediyurappa sexually assaulted her daughter. The brother of the victim had filed a plea in the court against the four-time former Karnataka chief minister.

Yediyurappa had applied for anticipatory bail at a special court, (People Representative Court) seeking prevention from arrest in the POCSO act filed against him, statement from his office.

Earlier on Friday, Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Sivakumar refuted BJP's allegations against the Congress government of indulging in "hate politics", following the arrest warrant against Yediyurappa."

“I have not gone into details about it (case). The Congress party doesn't hate anyone. If I speak about hate politics it will go somewhere else, so I don't want to speak...I feel pity (for Yediyurappa), because I too have suffered from it. I know the pain,” PTI quoted Shivakumar as saying.

In another development, Karnataka home minister G Parameshwara said that it will be good if Yediyurappa comes back to Bengaluru and appears before the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which is probing the POCSO case.

"Warrant has been issued, he will be brought and information will be gathered from him, and further action will be taken in accordance with law," PTI quoted the minister as saying.

"They have to say such things, what else can they say?" Parameshwara had said when asked about BJP's charge of ‘vendetta politics’ by the Congress government in the state.