K'taka HC adjourns hearing on POCSO case against Ex CM Yediyurappa to Sept 5

The Karnataka High Court on Friday adjourned to September 5 the hearing of BJP leader and former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa’s petition seeking to quash the POCSO case registered against him.

Justice M Nagaprasanna adjourned the hearing to September 5.

The court had earlier granted Yediyurappa temporary relief from arrest, enabling him to attend the court proceedings.

According to police, Yediyurappa was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, and Section 354 A (Sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) following a complaint by the mother of a 17-year-old girl alleging that he molested her daughter during a meeting on February two this year, at his residence in Dollars Colony here.

Yediyurappa has denied the charge.

The victim’s brother had filed a petition in the court last week alleging that though the case was registered nearly three months ago, no progress has been made in the investigation. The petitioner prayed for a direction to arrest and interrogate Yediyurappa.

After the Sadashivanagar police registered the case in March, the Karnataka Director General of Police Alok Mohan issued an order transferring it to the CID for further investigation.

The 54-year-old woman, who had levelled the charge against Yediyurappa, died at a private hospital here last month, due to lung cancer.

In April, the CID collected the voice sample of Yediyurappa after summoning him to the office.