Bengaluru police have booked Karnataka Water Resources Minister DK
Shivakumar for allegedly not taking down an advertisement banner,
despite being issued a formal ban. Byatarayanapura Police Station has
registered a case against the minister and Congress’
troubleshooter-in-chief based on a complaint by Muthuraj, an assistant
revenue officer of RR Nagar Zone of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara
Palike (BBMP), according to the complaint.

The FIR has been filed under Section 3 (Penalty for unauthorised
disfigurement by advertisement) and 5 (punishment for abettors) of
Karnataka Open Place Disfigurement Act 1951 and 1981, under Sections
233 and 285 (prohibition against obstruction to streets) of Karnataka
Municipal Corporation Act 1976 as well as Section 188 (Disobedience to
order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code.

The FIR mentioned although Shivakumar was served notices on August 13, 15,  30 and September 1, he did not act on them and the police complaint was filed.

The banner in question was installed by the minister on land in
Pantapalya off Mysore Road and according to the complaint, the
minister refused to act or answer notices by the BBMP.

Although there was a ban on the use of flex banners in the city as
part of the plastic ban, the use was rampant until the Karnataka High
Court forced the BBMP to act while hearing a Public Interest
Litigation in August. The court had taken strong exception to the
initial lackadaisical approach by the BBMP over the issue and even
held the chief secretary responsible for its inaction. Following this,
the BBMP has been proactive in removing both flexes and billboards in
the city.

After criticism by the HC, the BBMP finally passed its long-awaited
‘Outdoor Signage and Public Messaging’ bylaws that’s been in the works
since 2015, and put an official ban on all forms of outdoor
advertisements in the city for a year.

Read: Convinced Bengaluru looks cleaner after removing banners: BBMP
passesnewad bylaws

Shivakumar, who visited in Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga temple in Ujjain,
Madhya Pradesh on Sunday, could not be reached for a comment.

This FIR comes in the wake of four separate cases filed by the Income
Tax Department against Shivakumar and one case by the Enforcement
Directorate. All the five cases are in connection with raids conducted
by the central agencies against the veteran politician in various
locations in the country since August 2017. Shivakumar was first
raided in August 2017 at the Eagleton resort in Bidadi near Bengaluru,