The Karnataka Cabinet decided to withdraw 60 cases lodged against various activists, political workers, and the general public lodged in the past, during its meeting held Thursday.
Of the 60, 11 were related to the protests held following the arrest of Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar in September 2019 by the Enforcement Directorate.
The cases were registered at Kanakapura, Sathanur and Kodihalli police stations of Ramanagar (now Bengaluru South) district. The accused in the cases were booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.
A Cabinet note on the issue, accessed by The Indian Express, shows that Congress and JD(S) workers were involved in the protests as the two parties were allies then. Apart from holding demonstrations without permission, the workers were accused of violating prohibitory orders and pelting stones at buses run by the Karnataka State Transport Corporation (KSTC).
These cases were withdrawn based on petitions submitted by Karnataka Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara, and the chief whip of the government in the Legislative Assembly, Ashok Pattan.
Other cases
Another case involved the supporters of D K Suresh, brother of Shivakumar, who were booked for obstructing government officials from discharging their duties during an event in 2012. Supporters of Suresh were unhappy that he was not allowed to offer floral tributes to the statues of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and Kempegowda in January that year.
The police had booked five supporters of Suresh in connection with the case. This was withdrawn based on a petition filed by Shivakumar.
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Four cases withdrawn were related to the protests held at Shikaripura in the Shivamogga district in 2023 against the internal reservation for Scheduled Caste members announced by the then Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government. The protesters were accused of pelting stones and assaulting officials as they tried to lay siege to the residence of former chief minister B S Yediyurappa in the town.
Cases were also dropped based on the petition of former home minister Araga Jnanendra. Three of these cases were registered at the Ranebennur Police Station in the Haveri district.
The first was related to the violation of government order regarding the use of sound systems during the Ganesh Chaturthi procession. Police personnel who objected to it were misbehaved with as the procession lasted till 3 am on August 12, 2018.
The second was against individuals who had organised a ram fight in the town, and the third was related to violations during the Ganesh Chaturthi procession in 2019.
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Another case recommended to be dropped by Jnanendra was filed in 2017 for alleged violations during the same festival. The government also dropped a fifth case recommended by him in 2023, registered at Kanakapura police station, which involved a clash between two groups.
Based on a petition by IT/BT minister Priyank Kharge, a case filed at the Chittapur Police Station in the Kalaburagi district was dropped. The case was related to a stone pelting incident that took place in August 2019, when members of a community had objected to police seizing a vehicle carrying cattle. As many as 33 people were booked in the case.
A few cases registered during the protests against the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu and during the Mahadayi protest were also withdrawn by the Cabinet.