External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna on Friday moved the Karnataka High Court seeking a stay on proceedings initiated against him by the Lokayukta Court on a private complaint alleging his involvement in illegal mining during his tenure as state Chief Minister.
Krishna filed the petition a day after the Lokayukta police registered an FIR against him and 13 others, including former chief ministers N. Dharam Singh and H. D. Kumaraswamy, on the private complaint accusing them of facilitating illegal mining for pecuniary gain causing loss to the state.
In his petition, the Union Minister has submitted that he had not committed ‘any illegality or irregularity’ in the mining sector, his counsel Ashok Haranahally said.
The FIR was filed on Thursday under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Forest Conservation Act, Forest Act and Minerals and Metals Regulation and Development Act (MMRDA) and IPC sections following a direction by the Lokayukta Court to investigate the complaint by T. J. Abraham, a city-based social activist and businessman.
Lokayukta Judge N. K. Sudhindra Rao on December 3 admitted Abraham's complaint and directed the Lokayukta police to file its investigation report by January 6.