The Karnataka High Court on Friday put a stay on the Bengaluru Court's order that had taken cognizance and issued summons to former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and three others, requiring their appearance before the Trial Court on March 15 in a case registered under the POCSO Act.

Justice Pradeep Singh Yerur passed the interim order while hearing a petition filed by Yediyurappa challenging the trial court's fresh cognizance of the case. Noting the need for a detailed hearing, the Bench granted interim relief and issued a notice to the complainant.

“There shall be a stay on the order of taking cognizance and issuance of summons by the trial court. It is made clear that accused no 1 to 4 are personally exempted from appearance before the trial court, till the next date of hearing," the Bench ordered.

Earlier, the High Court had set aside the Special Court's initial order taking cognizance of the case and directed it to issue a fresh order. Subsequently, on February 28, the Special Court passed a second cognizance order, which has now been stayed.

As per the complaint, Yediyurappa sexually assaulted her daughter during a meeting in February last year, at his residence in Bengaluru.

Last year, in March, the Sadashivanagar police had registered the case. Later, it was transferred to CID for further investigation, which re-registered the FIR and filed a chargesheet.

Senior Advocate CV Nagesh appeared for Yediyurappa. Advocate General Shashi Kiran Shetty appeared for the state.

Nagesh highlighted that the High Court had quashed the earlier cognizance order after finding that the Special Court had not applied its mind. Questioning the credibility of the complaint, he pointed out, “The alleged offence took place on 02-02-2024 at 11:30 AM, and they met the Commissioner of Police the same day. If such an incident had occurred that morning, they would have spoken about it before the CP.”

"On 05-02-2024 they again visited me and took pictures with me. Again they met the CP and they did not whisper anything. Even on Feb 20, they met the CP but they did not open their lips. First time when certain political turmoil was happening in state, on March 14, they lodged a complaint against me," Nagesh added.

Nagesh contended that the witnesses present at Yediyurappa's residence on the alleged date of the offence had stated that no such incident took place. He argued that the Special Court had issued its order in a mechanical manner, without proper consideration.