Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court, on Tuesday pulled up the state government again and asked why it is so hesitant to give details of the vehicle passes issued for the wedding of Nikhil Kumaraswamy, son of former CM HD Kumaraswamy.
While observing that it will give a wrong message to the general public if only a few are given concession to hold lavish wedding amidst lockdown and a few are pulled up for the same, the Court said that there is a need for an inquiry into Nkhil Kumaraswamy’s wedding arrangement row as there is no proper details on the procedures followed during the wedding.
It may be recalled that based on a public interest litigation on the issue, the Karnataka High Court had sought details of the procedures followed to allow the wedding during the lockdown.
The division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice BV Nagarathna, while hearing case pressed for an inquiry, but the state government advocate, defending the Ramanagara Deputy Commissioner (DC), said although the Ministry of Home Affairs does not specify an upper limit for the number of guests, the DC should have put a cap on the number of guests for the event.
The state also said that henceforth it will be cautious and ensure no weddings take place with more than 50 people, till the lockdown is in place.
The HC reportedly criticised the state government saying it cannot behave as a private citizen and use a loophole in the MHA guidelines to defend itself.
Nikhil, son of former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, had married Revathi, the grandniece of former Housing Minister M Krishnappa, on April 17.
While the former CM had claimed that it was a low-key affair due to the lockdown restrictions, pictures of the event were proof for how the guidelines were violated.
