Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)
Bengaluru, Feb 6: Judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Chelameswar, has recused himself from hearing cases relating to denotification of land filed against former chief minister of Karnataka and state BJP president, B S Yeddyurappa. The petitioner has challenged the quashing of 15 denotification cases filed against Yeddyurappa by Karnataka high court.
Both the state government and petitioner, Sirajin Basha, have questioned the high court verdict in these denotification cases filed against Yeddyurappa. The state government has filed a special leave petition against the verdict. The appeal filed by Sirajin was being heard by a division bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Chelameswar. But when the case came up for hearing again, Justice Chelameswar said that he was recusing himself from hearing the case and ordered the same to be put before a bench of which he is not a member. Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul happens to be the other member of the said division bench. Since the appeal came before it on December 16, 2015 the bench had heard this case several times.
Justice Chelameswar
The high court had quashed all the 15 denotification cases filed against Yeddyurappa. The petitioner had challenged the November 24, 2015 order of Karnataka high court quashing these notifications, sanction for which was granted by previous governor, Hansraj Bhardwaj. The division bench with Justice Chelameswar as one of its members had conducted a few hearings in the case in the past. But now Justice Chelameswar suddenly has withdrawn himself from hearing this case.
When passing the verdict quashing the sanction for prosecution given by Hansraj Bhardwaj on January 21, 2011, high court of Karnataka had also cited that the relationship between Yeddyurappa and the then governor used to be uneasy. The court also had observed that the governor deviated from the recommendation made by the council of ministers against granting the said permission to prosecute in five cases. On December 4, 2015, current governor, Vajubhai Vala, had refused to grant fresh sanction to prosecute Yeddyurappa as the latter was no more a chief minister.