Advocate Sachin S Deshpande from Bengaluru has urged the Supreme Court to address prolonged stays in corruption cases involving former Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa. He highlighted inconsistencies in stay grants, claiming favoritism undermines public confidence. Deshpande called for urgent reform to ensure timely hearings, reiterating the need for the judiciary to uphold its integrity and anti-corruption objectives.
New Delhi: Advocate Sachin S Deshpande from Bengaluru has written to the Chief Justice of India, urging the Supreme Court to take suo motu notice of the prolonged stays in corruption cases involving former Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and other MPs/MLAs. The plea calls for expeditious hearings to address concerns of judicial delay and potential favouritism.
Deshpande expressed concerns over the “disturbing asymmetry in how stays are handled” in cases involving Yediyurappa. He claimed that while the Supreme Court grants stays promptly in cases favoring the former CM, similar requests from investigating agencies or complainants against High Court rulings remain unaddressed for years.
Highlighting the inconsistency, Deshpande pointed to multiple cases where
“stays were granted promptly upon the filing of SLPs by Yediyurappa, continuing for years without substantial hearing.”
These cases include the Alam Pasha case, the TJ Abraham case, and the Vasudeva Reddy case.
In contrast, cases like the Shivarama Karanth Layout denotification and the CAG Report case, where investigating agencies sought relief against Yediyurappa, have seen no interim relief or hearings for extended periods.
“This creates an appearance of differential treatment that could erode public confidence in the judicial system,” Deshpande stated in his letter, stressing that such patterns must be reviewed urgently to maintain the integrity of the judiciary and its anti-corruption framework.
The lawyer emphasized that the Supreme Court, as the guardian of the rule of law, must address these concerns to uphold the justice system’s credibility. He cited the 2017 Supreme Court directive to establish Special Courts for expeditiously trying cases against MPs/MLAs, highlighting how Yediyurappa’s cases defy this objective.
“The pattern in Yediyurappa’s cases shows precisely the opposite – prolonged stays and indefinite pendency, effectively defeating the court’s objective of expeditious handling of political corruption cases,”
Deshpande alleged.
Deshpande urged the Supreme Court to review the justification for continuing such prolonged stays, particularly in cases that have seen little to no progress over years. He asserted that addressing these patterns is essential not only for specific cases but also for maintaining public confidence in the judiciary’s impartiality and commitment to justice.
The letter raises critical questions about judicial processes and calls for reforms to ensure timely resolution of high-profile corruption cases, protecting the integrity of India’s legal system.
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