The FIR against former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa filed for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor should not be quashed, and the case should proceed to trial, the state government argued before the Karnataka High Court. He also submitted that the forensic reports on the video showing the complainant in the POCSO case confronting Yediyurappa had showed it was genuine.
Special Public Prosecutor Ravivarma Kumar made the submissions in his final arguments before Justice M Nagaprasanna, who is hearing Yediyurappa’s plea to quash the FIR, LiveLaw reported.
Yediyurappa has been accused of sexually assaulting a minor in February 2024, when she was 17 years old. Her mother filed a complaint with the Sadashivanagar police in March 2024. She died shortly after that, on May 26. The investigation was handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department, which filed a chargesheet in June 2024.
On June 12, Yediyurappa filed a petition in the High Court, seeking the quashing of the case against him.
POCSO case against BS Yediyurappa: Minor’s family breaks silence
Ravivarma Kumar said that Section 29 of the POCSO Act presumes guilt on the part of the accused until proven otherwise, unlike “the normal foundation for criminal jurisprudence.” He also told the court that the prosecution had submitted the forensic report for the video in which the girl’s mother is heard confronting Yediyurappa about the alleged incident. According to the forensic report, the voice samples in the video matched with those of Yediyurappa. The forensic report also attested that the video was not tampered with and was genuine, the SPP said.
Yediyurappa POCSO case: Chargesheet says video recorded by minor is crucial evidence
Ravivarma Kumar also argued that although Yediyurappa had appeared before the investigating authorities, no custodial interrogation had taken place. Justice Nagaprasanna then asked, “So there should at least be a trial, is your submission?" to which Ravivarma replied in the affirmative.
In June 2024, the High Court restrained the CID from arresting Yediyurappa. Justice Krishna S Dixit, had said that “(Yediyurappa) is not some Tom, Dick or Harry to flee… He is a former Chief Minister of (a) state.”
Watch: The brother of the minor spoke to TNM’s editor-in-chief Dhanya Rajendran
Ravivarma told the court that he had never heard a judge making such remarks during a hearing in his 50-year career as an advocate. He also urged the court to withdraw the interim order exempting Yediyurappa from personally appearing before the trial court.
While Justice Nagaprasanna orally said that those observations were made by the previous bench, he extended the interim order, exempting the former CM from making a personal appearance before the court.
He also told the court that trials in POCSO cases must be completed within a year and that there were only 17 days left. Justice Nagaprasanna said that the hearing in the present petition would be completed by February 2.
The minor had been allegedly sexually assaulted by her relative when she was about six years old, and her mother had approached Yediyurappa to seek justice in that case. On the day of the alleged incident, the minor and her mother had gone to Yediyurappa’s house in Sadashivanagar. Yediyurappa had allegedly called the minor into a separate room on the pretext of questioning her about the case and allegedly sexually assaulted her.
They left the house, and the girl told her mother about the alleged assault at a coffee shop near Yediyurappa’s house. On learning what had happened, the mother went back to Yediyurappa’s house along with her daughter and confronted the former CM. This confrontation was recorded by the minor herself.
In the previous hearings, Yediyurappa’s advocates had argued that the alleged incident had never taken place. The hearing has been adjourned to January 17.