Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has set aside a special court order that had been issued in December 2017 discharging two sub-registrars, a first division assistant, and a private person from all charges brought against them in 2005 under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the IPC. The court did this by allowing the petition that the Lokayukta had filed.
Justice H. B. Prabhakara Sastry set aside the special court’s order after noting that it was made hastily and that the order the government gave in 2006 was not a sanction to prosecute the accused.
Justice Sastry said that since the alleged incident is said to have taken place in 2005, as such, a very old matter, the High Court requested the special court to complete the trial and dispose of the matter, in accordance with the law, at the earliest, but not later than six months.
The accused Sub-Registrars were S. Nataraj, a vendor of stamp paper, and Venkatesh Bhat and K, R. Renuka Prasad, who were First Division Assistants at the Jayanagar Sub-Registrar Office. Following the allegation made by Quality City Labs Private Limited for demanding a bribe for the registration of a sale deed, the accused were arrested on June 7, 2005.
