The Madras high court Friday quashed all proceedings against Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa in the `2-crore birthday gift case, holding her constitutional right to a speedy trial stood “flagrantly violated” with a delay of more than a decade to complete investigation by the CBI. In his order, Justice K.N. Basha said “there was absolutely no explanation whatsoever for such an inordinate delay of more than a decade for completing the investigation and filing the final report.” “The FIR was not registered based on any complaint by any aggrieved person or from any source of information. Therefore, it was crystal clear that she had not suppressed any material factor,” he said. Not buying the CBI’s explanation that the probe was to be conducted in the US, UK and UAE, which led to delay, he said “he was unable to accept such a strange and curious explanation.”

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K’taka hc grants stay on summons to yeddy
AGE CORRESPONDENT
bengaluru, Sept. 30

The Karnataka high court on Friday stayed lower court proceedings against former chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa with regard to two cases before the Lokayukta court.
Though providing temporary relief for Mr Yeddyurappa till October 14, the order has greater significance following the Lokayukta court reserving orders on the bail plea by Mr Yeddyurappa till October 3.
Justice B.S. Patil stayed the lower court proceedings till the next date of hearing before posting the matter for hearing to October 14.
The Lokayukta court reserved order on bail on the case of illegal denotification of land in Uttarahalli, Rachenhalli and Agara in which 10 people, including Mr Yeddyurappa and his sons who are the main accused in the case.
The high court has stayed the proceedings in connection with the private complaint No. 3 (denotification of land at Geddalahalli, Deverachikkanahalli and Arakere) and No. 4 (denotification of land at Rachenhalli, Uttarahalli, Chitradurga and Hosadurga) by two city-based advocates.

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Hc: ec can proceed against chavan, koda
New Delhi, Sept. 30: The Delhi high court Friday gave the green signal to the Election Commission to probe Ashok Chavan and Madhu Koda, former chief ministers of Maharashtra and Jharkhand respectively, in connection with alleged discrepancies in their poll expenditure accounts.
A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Sanjeev Khanna gave the order while dismissing the pleas of Mr Chavan and Mr Koda challenging the poll panel’s power to proceed against them. Mr Chavan is an MLA from Maharashtra while Mr Koda, currently lodged in Jharkhand jail for his alleged role in a money laundering and corruption case, is a Lok Sabha MP from Singhbhum in Jharkhand. “The EC can go into the truthfulness or untruthfulness of the accounts filed by the elected candidates,” the court said. — PTI

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Court upholds achuta son vigilance probe
Kochi, Sept. 30: The Kerala HC Friday dismissed a writ petition by V.A. Arun Kumar, son of former chief minister V.S. Achuthanandan, challenging the state government’s decision to order a vigilance probe into allegations against him. The allegations were raised by CM Oommen Chandy in a complaint to the previous LDF government when he was Leader of the Opposition. Mr Achuthanandan had referred the petition to the Lokayukta. However, when the new government came to power, a vigilance probe was ordered into the complaint, which was challenged by Mr Kumar, who is the additional director of Institute of Human Resources Development. Mr Kumar contended that once a complaint is referred to the Lokayukta under provisions of the Lokayukta Act, the government has no power to withdraw the case. — PTI