Karnataka CM, deputy get bail
Rahul Gandhi asked to appear before court on June 7
A Bengaluru court granted bail to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar in a defamation case filed by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader. The 42nd Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Court, however, asked Rahul Gandhi to appear before the court on June 7 in connection with the case.
While Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar appeared in person before the Special Court for People's Representatives in Bengaluru, Gandhi, who was supposed to appear, did not turn up due to commitments linked to the ongoing polls. Advocates appearing for Gandhi sought exemption from appearing before the court. BJP advocates raised objections and said Gandhi should not be given an exemption under CrPC 205 since he
had skipped an appearance for the second time. While exiting the court, Siddaramaiah said that he has faith in the judiciary and the case doesn't amount to defamation.
The case was filed by the then BJP general secretary Keshvaprasad against Congress
leaders Rahul Gandhi, Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar for publishing advertisements in the media calling the then BJP government a ‘40 per cent sarkar’, accusing the BJP government of collecting 40 per cent commission on public works and exorbitant bribe in posting and recruitments. The party also put out posters of 'PayCM' with a QR code showing the then CM Basavaraj Bommai in the middle of it. Scanning the QR code would redirect to a web page, which had contents accusing rampant corruption prevailing in the state under the BJP rule. -