1. The Karnataka High Court on Thursday refused to stay the Lokayukta proceedings against former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa in connection with the denotification scam. The judge said he could not provide an interim order and go against the Supreme Court judgement. The private complaint was filed by RTI activist Jayakumar S Hiremath based on a CAG report about alleged illegal denotification of land during his regime.
2. The Karnataka legislature on Thursday passed a bill to oust Lokayukta Y Bhaskar Rao by amending the provisions in the previous bill to remove Lokayukta and Upalokayukta. The new Karnataka Lokayukta Amendment Bill 2015, will be tabled in the Council on Friday. The bill would then be sent to Governor Vajubhai Vala for assent. A special session is likely to be convened after the BBMP elections to remove Justice Rao, if he failed to resign by then.
3. A 80-year-old man succumbed to head injuries on Thursday when he slipped and fell into a lift shaft at Fortis Hospital in Nagarbavi. Sachidananda Murthy, who had brought his wife for dialysis, realised that he had left behind some paper work and went to the hospital to collect it. When he pressed the button for the lift, the door immediately opened and Murthy stepped in without realising that there was no lift car.
4. The Special Investigation Team are now probing if Lokayukta's son Y Ashwin Rao had links with officials at the police wing of Lokayukta. The SIT officials suspect that even some police officials attached with the Lokayukta may have connived with Ashwin in running the extortion racket. Call record details have revealed that some police officials were in touch with Ashwin.
5. As many as 616 products were found to be adulterated or wrongly branded in the last three years in the state, according to a report by Union Health and Family Welfare. Products like oil, milk and milk products were found to be the most adulterated or wrongly branded. 56 criminal cases have now been registered.