BSY walks out on bail

BSY walks out on bail

Former Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa’s 24-day ordeal is over. The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday granted him conditional bail, along with former Minister SN Krishnaiah Setty.

Justice BV Pinto allowed the bail application on the condition of Rs 5 lakh surety and no attempts to tamper with evidence.

As Yeddyurappa walked out of high security central prison at Parappanna Agrahara, a huge crowd of supporters welcomed him proving beyond any doubt that he was the undisputed leader of the BJP in Karnataka.

Chief Minister DV Sadananda Gowda welcomed Yeddyurappa’s release and said he would consult him on development issues.

The Lokayukta Special Court had rejected the bail applications of Yeddyurappa and Setty on October 15 and sent them to judicial custody. Pinto, however, observed that the lower court had not taken into consideration whether the documents submitted by the complainants were verified and subjected to scrutiny. “Therefore, there is no impediment in granting bail,” Pinto noted.

Pinto observed that the complainant had also not produced any witnesses. “Under these circumstances, mere reading of the sworn statement does not disclose guilt of offences. The counsel for the petitioner has stated that de-notification of Government lands are permissible under Section 48 of the Land Acquisition Act. For this, no fault can be made against the accused. Offences under this Act are not punishable,” he added.

Three more complaints filed by advocate Sirajin Basha are pending before the Lokayukta court.

Ministers for Excise Renukacharya, Irrigation Murugesh Nirani, Housing V Somanna, BJP MLAs from Bangalore Satish and Nandish Reddy, Yeddyurappa’s sons BY Vijendra and BY Raghavendra and son-in-law Sohan Kumar were among those gathered to welcome Yeddyurappa on his release. BJP MP from Tumkur Basavaraj met Yeddyurappa before his release.

The BJP strongman told the waiting media, “I thank God for my release. I also thank my supporters and party workers for their prayer for my release. I always respect the court verdict. I have not done anything wrong. Truth will come out soon. I don’t want to blame anyone.”

Yeddyurappa’s release is going to be a significant development in Karnataka politics. Yeddyurappa’s supporters are coming to Bangalore to work out a political strategy on Wednesday as message to his detractors. In all probability, B Sriramulu - close confidant of Gali Janardhana Reddy - is going to contest from Bellary as an independent in the upcoming by-elections.

Renukacharya told the media that Yeddyurappa was a victim of a conspiracy by the Congress and former Lokayukta Santosh Hegde. “The whole State is celebrating his release. He is our undisputed leader. He has built the party for the last 40 years. The former Lokayukta colluded with the Congress to destablise my leader. I have proof and will show it when it is necessary. He will become our Chief Minister again.” In another development, senior Congress leaders met in Bangalore to look for alliances in case of early polls. The meeting was attended by Union Ministers SM Krishna and Veerappa Moily, State president G Parameshwara and others.