After Friday’s all important CEC recommendation for a probe by the CBI into the deals between former CM B.S. Yeddyurappa and mining majors, all eyes are now on the Supreme Court which is expected to resume the hearing on the subject on Monday.
Legal sources said that instead of taking up this matter along with other mining cases pending with its forest bench, the apex court is likely to club the CEC report along with a Special Leave Petition (SLP), which may come up for hearing before the regular bench headed by the Chief Justice on Monday.
The SLP has been filed by Sirajin Basha, the petitioner in the Lokayukta court in Bengaluru. He has challenged the Karnataka High Court order quashing the sanction granted by Governor H.R. Bhardwaj for the prosecution of the former CM on the basis of an FIR filed by the Lokayukta police.
The clean chit given to BSY in this case, was cited by BSY’s counsel while opposing the CEC proposal for a CBI probe against him.
“The charges involve serious violations of the relevant Acts and procedural lapses by then CM (Yeddyurappa) which enabled his close relatives to make profits and raises grave issues relating to undue favours, ethics and morality”, observed CEC member secretary M.K. Jiwrajka in a 17-page report.
The petitioner NGO, Samaj Parivartan Samudaya had sought an extension of the probe into illegal mining by the CBI into the bribery charges involving Yeddyurappa and steel tycoon Sajjan Jindal led Jindal Group of companies.
The CEC report says that Yeddyurappa turned a blind to the business of JSW Steels which was indicted for receiving large quantities of illegal minerals.