Case registered during Mekedatu padayatra: HC relief for Karnataka Congress leaders

BENGALURU: The Karnataka high court on Tuesday stayed till further orders the proceedings initiated against former chief minister Siddaramaiah, KPCC president D K Shivakumar, former ministers TB Jayachandra, Priyank Kharge, H Anjaneya and others in connection with a case registered under the Karnataka Epidemic Diseases Act.
Justice Sunil Dutt Yadav passed this interim order after hearing a petition filed by 13 people.The judge also ordered notice to Ramanagara rural police as well.
The case was registered over Covid norms violation during the padayatra, demanding the construction of the Mekedatu dam across the Cauvery river.
The 10-day padayatra, which began on January 9 from Mekedatu, the confluence of rivers Cauvery and Arkavathi, was scheduled to conclude in Bengaluru. But, it was suspended on January 13, following the high court's strong observations.
The petitioners claimed that the provisions of the Epidemic Disease Act could not have been invoked without necessary notifications invoking the said provisions of the Act.
According to them, the prosecution is relying on the guidelines issued under the National Disaster Management Act and prosecuting them under the Epidemic Disease Act and the same is per se illegal.