The Karnataka Cabinet has approved the withdrawal of 60 criminal cases against political workers, activists, and members of the public, under the previous BJP government.
Among them, 11 cases were linked to protests held in September 2019 following the arrest of Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar by the Enforcement Directorate. These cases, registered at Kanakapura, Sathanur and Kodihalli police stations in Ramanagara (now Bengaluru South) district, booked Congress and JD(S) workers under various sections of the IPC and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act. Protesters were accused of staging demonstrations without permission, violating prohibitory orders and pelting stones at Karnataka State Transport Corporation (KSTC) buses.
According to The Indian Express, the decision was taken following petitions by Home Minister G Parameshwara and government chief whip Ashok Pattan.
The Cabinet also withdrew a 2012 case against supporters of former Congress MP DK Suresh, Shivakumar’s brother, who had been booked for obstructing officials after being denied permission to pay floral tributes to the statues of Dr. BR Ambedkar and Kempegowda. Five of Suresh’s supporters had been named in the FIR.
Four other cases withdrawn were linked to protests in Shikaripura, Shivamogga district, in 2023 against the BJP government’s internal reservation policy for Scheduled Castes. Protesters allegedly pelted stones and clashed with police during an attempted siege of former chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa’s residence.
Several cases recommended earlier by former home minister Araga Jnanendra were also dropped. These included incidents involving violations during Ganesh Chaturthi processions in Haveri district (2018 and 2019), a ram fight, and a group clash in Kanakapura.
A 2019 case in Chittapur, Kalaburagi district, against 33 people for stone-pelting during a clash over cattle transport was also withdrawn, following a petition from IT/BT minister Priyank Kharge.
Cases linked to protests over the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu and demonstrations during the Mahadayi agitation were similarly scrapped.