Karnataka High Court stays proceedings against Minister K.J. George and two bureaucrats on complaint of illegalities in smart meter tender process

The Hindu

5 days ago

The High Court of Karnataka on Wednesday stayed the proceedings before a special court against Energy Minister K.J. George and two officials on a private complaint lodged by BJP leaders alleging a series of illegalities and corruption in awarding tender in favour of a private company to supply smart electricity meters at an exorbitant price.
Justice M.I. Arun passed the interim order on separate petitions filed by Mr. George, Mahantesh Bilagi, then managing director (MD) of Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) and presently MD of Karnataka Minerals Corporation Ltd., and Ramesh H.J., director-technical of Bescom.
The petitioners have questioned the legality of an order, passed on July 23 by the Special Court of Sessions for criminal cases against former and present MPs and MLAs, directing the Superintendent of Police (SP), Lokayukta police, to submit a report on the complaint lodged by the BJP legislators, C.N. Ashwath Narayan, S.R. Vishwanath, and Dheeraj Muniraj.
The BJP leaders in April knocked the doors of the special court as the Lokayukta police had not taken any action on the complaint lodged by them seeking investigation into the illegalities in the smart meter tender process.
BJP's allegations
It has been alleged in the complaint of the BJP legislators that M/s. Rajashree Electricals Pvt. Ltd., (REPL), Davangere, is a 'benami and shell company being operated by agents or henchmen of Mr. George' and several vital norms for awarding the tender were ignored to award the contract to supply smart meters at an exorbitant price when it could have been supplied at a lower price under a Central government-sponsored scheme.
Also, it has been alleged in the complaint that Gaurav Gupta, Additional Chief Secretary, Energy Department, Mr. Belagi, in his capacity as MD of Bescom, and Mr. Ramesh had conspired with Mr. George in awarding the tender illegally and causing a huge loss to the State exchequer.
The complaint has also alleged that REPL had tied up with another private company, BTCIL, which is a blacklisted company at the time of the award of tender.
No material: George
While denying all the allegations, Mr. George and the two officials have contended that there was no material against them to constitute an offence that require an investigation.
The petitioners have also questioned the report sought by the special court from the SP, Lokayukta, while contending that this order was violative of Section 175 (4) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
A report under Section 175 (4) of the BNSS can be secured only from the 'administrative superior' of the public servant, against whom complaint has been lodged, and not from the police officer or investigative authority as has been done by the special court in this case, it has been claimed in the petitions.
Also, it has been contended in the petition that the special court could not have sought any report in the absence of prior sanction for investigation granted by the competent authority under Section 17-A of the Prevention of Corruption Act.