KAS officer’s acts prima facie ‘deeply seeped in corruption’, says Karnataka High Court, while refusing to quash disproportionate assets case

Observing that acts of KAS officer B. Sudha prima facie were “deeply seeped in corruption”, the High Court of Karnataka has refused to quash a disproportionate assets case against her while vacating the stay order, which restrained the Lokayukta police from file a chargesheet against her without the court’s permission.

Justice M. Nagaprasanna passed the order while dismissing a petition filed by Ms. Sudha and her husband, Stroiny Joseph Pais, who is arraigned as accused no. 2 in the first information report (FIR).

“Quoting contents of the chargesheet in this order would undoubtedly prejudice defence of the petitioners before the concerned court. Therefore, this court desists from quoting contents/observations in the chargesheet. But would undoubtedly observe that the offences are grave, prima facie all of them are met and the acts of petitioner no. 1 [Ms. Sudha] in particular, are deeply seeped in corruption,” the court observed in its order.

What material indicates

“...Prima facie the material available on the strength of enormous documents collected during the investigation, would undoubtedly require a trial,” the court said while stating that it was for the petitioners to come out clean in a full-fledged trial.

As the High Court in August, 2024, restrained the Lokayukta police from filing the investigation report before a special court for Lokayukta cases without its permission, the Lokayukta police, after completion of investigation, had submitted the proposed chargesheet, with documents, before the High Court.

While rejecting the accused-KAS officer’s contention that the probe conducted was contrary to the law, the High Court said that as Section 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act dealt with offences for disproportionate assets, there was no need for prior approval from the competent authority for conducting investigation. The High Court also found no lapse on the part of the special court in referring the complaint for investigation.

Background

The special court, acting on a private compliant lodged by one Abraham T.J., on August 20, 2020, had referred the complaint for investigation to the then Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB). After the ACB was wound up, the FIR was transferred to the Lokayukta police.

It was alleged in the complaint that Ms. Sudha, when she was serving as Assistant Commissioner and Land Acquisition Officer of the Bangalore Development Authority had indulged in huge corruption and purchased several immovable properties in Bengaluru, Udupi, and Doddaballapur worth several crores of rupees allegedly using the amount received through bribe from landowners.

It was alleged that she was collecting bribe through some agents, who had tipped off the complainant.

The complainant had alleged that during the processing of the files related to land acquisition, Ms. Sudha was providing contact details of landowners to her agents, who then were collecting bribe from landowners for award of compensation for acquired lands.