Karnataka High Court sets aside State government's 2024 decision to withdraw 43 criminal cases
The High Court of Karnataka on Thursday (May 29, 2025) set aside the Government Order (GO) issued in October 2024 for withdrawing 43 criminal cases, including the 2022 case of Hubballi riots, in which a mob had attacked and assaulted several police personnel over the issue of a controversial post on social media.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice N.V. Anjaria and Justice K.V. Aravind passed the order while allowing a PIL petition filed by Girish Bharadwaj, a city-based advocate.
'The GO is set aside. It is declared that the GO shall stand non est from inception. Consequences in law will follow...,' the Chief Justice said while reading out the operative portion of the order.
Impact of judgement
The impact of the judgement is that even if the proceedings in any of the 43 cases were already from the jurisdictional courts based on the October 15, 2024, GO, all those proceedings will resume from the stage at which they were withdrawn.
The petitioner had expressed concern as the 43 cases, which the Cabinet decided to withdraw, included the those in which serious charges under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, Prevention of Destruction of Public Property Act, 1984, and Religious Institution (Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1988 were invoked against some of the accused persons, including the 2022 case of Hubballi riots.
In a few other cases, which were proposed to be withdrawn, former Ministers, former MLAs, and persons belonging to influential organisations were arraigned as accused persons, the petitioner had pointed out while contending that the GO was violative of Section 321 of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cr. PC) as this provision specifically grants the authority to initiate any action for withdrawal from prosecution solely to the prosecutor.
Hence, it was argued on behalf of the petitioner that the State Cabinet had no power to issue the direction to the prosecutor to withdraw these criminal cases.
Opinion of departments
Also, the petitioner had stated that the decision of the Cabinet, based on which the GO was issued, was contrary to the opinion of the departments of the police and the prosecution, which had stated that these criminal cases were not fit for withdrawal.
Moreover, it was pointed out in the petition that the High Court, while dealing with a similar instance of withdrawal of criminal cases based on 2020 Cabinet decision, had in 2022 clarified that withdrawal of cases against former and present MPs and MLAs would be governed by the judgment of the apex court, and hence they cannot be withdrawn without permission from the respective High Courts.
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