Today, On 23rd, July, The Karnataka High Court stayed the FIR against Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers investigating the Valmiki Corporation case. The FIR filed following a complaint from a government official, who alleged that the ED officers coerced him into implicating former Congress minister B. Nagendra and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court, On Tuesday, stayed the first information report (FIR) and subsequent proceedings against two Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers involved in investigating the alleged multi-crore Valmiki Corporation scam.
Justice M Nagaprasanna, while issuing the stay, stated,
“Allowing this case to proceed, even for an offense under 351 and 353 of the BNS, would constitute an abuse of the law against officers who were merely performing their duties and now face charges as a result.”
The officers charged following a complaint by Additional Director of the Social Welfare Department, Kallesh B, who called in for questioning by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) regarding the Valmiki Corporation case.
Kallesh claimed that during his ED interrogation, he coerced into implicating the detained former Congress minister B Nagendra and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the case.
During the initial hearing, Additional Solicitor General Aravind Kamat, representing the ED, argued that the officers performing their official duties when booked. He also noted that the complainant took six days before reporting to the police.
Justice Nagaprasanna remarked,
“If the discharge of duties of every officer is investigated like this, then no one will work. Whether it is officers on this side or that side. And anyone who comes out of interrogation will say he was threatened. These innovative filmy style ideas will not be allowed here. Tomorrow, no investigating officer will be safe. You are opening a Pandora’s Box.”
When the Court inquired about the police’s actions, Advocate General Shashikiran Shetty retorted,
“The question should be why is the ED doing this?”
The Court responded,
“That is not the issue before me. If I allow this, no investigating officer will be safe.”
Ultimately, the Court stayed the investigation against the ED officers and scheduled the next hearing for August 21.
Advocate Madhukar Deshpande, along with ASG Kamat, represented the ED, while Additional Special Public Prosecutor BN Jagadesh and AG Shetty appeared for the State.
On July 22, the Bengaluru Police filed an FIR against two Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers, alleging they coerced a senior government official into implicating Nagendra and Siddaramaiah in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation case.
Kallesh reported to the police that he called in for questioning by the ED on July 16 regarding the misappropriation of funds from the Valmiki Corporation. He alleged that during this questioning, ED officers Murali Kannan and an officer named Mittal pressured him to accuse Nagendra and Siddaramaiah.
Nagendra had been arrested by the ED on July 12 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and was subsequently placed in 14 days of judicial custody on Monday.
The suspected scam exposed in May when Chandrashekhar, the accounts superintendent of the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation, committed suicide at his home. He left a note implicating misappropriation of the corporation’s welfare funds.
In response, the Karnataka government formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the allegations, while the ED initiated a separate inquiry.
According to the ED, approximately Rs. 90 crore unlawfully transferred from the Valmiki Corporation’s bank account to several unauthorized accounts.