Giving major relief to external affairs minister S.M. Krishna, who is facing an FIR on illegal mining in Karnat-aka, the Supreme Court on Friday stayed the proceedings against him before the lokayu-kta court in Bengaluru as well as a direction of the state high court for continuing the investigation in the case.
A bench of Justices Altamas Kabir and Gyan Sudha Misra passed the interim stay on the appeal moved by Mr Krishna against the high court’s January 20 verdict upholding the lokayukta court’s order to register the FIR against him in the case related to denotifying 6,800 sq. km. of forest land facilitating its release for mining in 2003 when he headed the state’s Congress government.
The court granted the stay mainly because the lokayukta court took cognisance in the matter on a “premature” complaint filed on the basis of the lokayukta’s findings regarding denotification of 11,600 sq. km. of land, including 6,800 sq. km. of forest land.