Rejecting the ‘B’ report submitted by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in 2018 stating that allegation of amassing assets disproportionate to known sources of income could not be established against Housing Minister V. Somanna, a special court in Bengaluru has ordered issue of summons to him while holding that there are sufficient grounds to proceed against him in the corruption case.
“The Investigation Officer (IO) has not properly conducted the investigation and not submitted the report in accordance with law by taking into consideration the formula to calculate the disproportionate assets. It is for the accused to explain as to how he has acquired the assets after he became councillor, MLA, MLC, and Minister,” the court said.
B. Jayantha Kumar, judge of the special court exclusively to deal with criminal cases related to MPs/MLAs in the State of Karnataka, passed the order on March 21 on a private complaint lodged way back in 2013.
Complainant, Ramakrishna of Bengaluru, had alleged that Mr. Somanna had purchased a larger number of sites and properties in Bengaluru, Mysuru, and Mangaluru in his name and in the name of his family members, and his assets exceeded around 204% of his known sources of income.
The complainant had claimed that Mr. Somanna had started his career as a sales assistant in Janata Bazaar for a monthly salary of ₹231 in 1973, and he began to acquire a large number of immovable assets after he joined politics and became a councillor of the city municipality in 1989.
However, the ACB, in its report had stated that “income and expenditure are more than the assets of the accused and therefore, he has not committed any offence” under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
On going through the ACB’s report, the court found that the IO had not mentioned the assets of the accused and his family members at the commencement of the check period. Besides, the IO had failed to calculate the disproportionate assets as per the formula and to explain as to how the claims made by the complaint was wrong.
