Mangaluru: The Karnataka High Court has quashed the First Information Report (FIR) registered against BJP MLA Vedavyas Kamath and others in connection with an alleged assault on a Congress worker during a religious programme held at the Sri Krishna Bhajana Mandir in Shaktinagar, Mangaluru.
The FIR had been registered at the Kankanady police station in March last year after allegations that Kamath and others assaulted a Congress worker during the religious event. With the High Court’s order, the criminal proceedings initiated against the BJP legislator and the other accused have come to an end.
High Court sets aside FIR
The Karnataka High Court delivered its order on Thursday, July 9, allowing the petition filed by Kamath and quashing the FIR registered against him and the other accused.
Senior advocate Arun Shyam represented Kamath before the High Court and argued the matter on his behalf.
While the court has set aside the FIR, the order does not specify the legal grounds on which it reached its decision.
Case stemmed from alleged assault during religious programme
The case arose from an alleged incident during a religious programme at the Sri Krishna Bhajana Mandir in Shaktinagar, Mangaluru, in March last year.
Following the complaint, the Kankanady police registered an FIR against Kamath and others, alleging assault on a Congress worker during the event. The case remained under legal consideration until the High Court examined the petition seeking to quash the proceedings.
With the latest order, the FIR and all proceedings arising from it have been set aside.
Vedavyas Kamath calls case politically motivated
Reacting to the High Court’s verdict, Vedavyas Kamath welcomed the decision and alleged that the case had been filed with political motives.
He said the judgment was a victory for justice and maintained that the allegations against him were false.
“This was a false case, politically motivated and filed with malicious intent. The judgment delivered by the High Court is a victory for justice. Ever since the Congress government came to power in the state, a series of false cases have been registered against several BJP MLAs and party workers, including myself. However, this judgment has once again proved that falsehood cannot prevail for long,” Kamath said.
Criminal proceedings come to an end
The High Court’s order effectively brings to a close the criminal proceedings initiated against Kamath and the other accused in connection with the alleged assault case.
Although the FIR has been quashed, the court order available at present does not elaborate on the legal reasoning behind the decision.
The ruling marks the conclusion of the case against the BJP MLA arising out of the alleged incident during the religious programme in Mangaluru.