The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the trial of former Karnataka Chief Minister and BJP leader BS Yediyurappa in a case registered against him under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenders Act (POCSO), the Bar and Bench said. A stay order halts the trial court proceedings while the high court examines the procedural concerns raised by the senior leader.
A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi passed the order after hearing Yediyurappa’s petition challenging the Karnataka High Court’s refusal to quash the case, the Bar and Bench report added.
The bench also issued a notice to the Karnataka government seeking its response to Yediyurappa’s plea. The limited issue before the court is whether he is entitled to have his petition heard by the high court – an issue Yediyurappa’s legal team says was wrongly excluded during earlier proceedings.
The Supreme Court, in its order, said: “The Coordinating Commission has misconstrued the previous decision dated so and so, holding that in view of the decision in the previous round, the petition cannot be heard on its merits. We therefore issue a notice for the limited purpose of re-deciding in view of the liberty granted to the petitioner, the broad order date of February 7, 2025.”
Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, appearing for Yediyurappa, had earlier argued that the Supreme Court had ignored crucial evidence.
“There are certain statements that the prosecution is suppressing. The Supreme Court has ignored the facts that there are people who say that nothing like this happened. He was chief minister four times,” said a senior lawyer.
The Bar and Bench quoted CJI Kant as saying, “How can you force the Supreme Court to hold a mini trial?”
The matter will now return to the Karnataka High Court to hear again the narrow question of whether Yediyurappa is entitled to a full hearing on the merits of his challenge.
What is this against Yediyurappa?
The criminal case against former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa stems from an allegation by a woman who alleged he sexually molested her 17-year-old daughter. According to the complaint, the teenager was accompanying her mother to Yediyurappa’s residence seeking help when the alleged incident took place. The complainant – who has since died – gave her statement to the police on March 14, 2024 and further alleged that the BJP veteran tried to silence her by offering money.
Following her complaint, an FIR was registered under Section 8 of the POCSO Act and Section 354A of the Indian Penal Code, both of which related to sexual harassment of minors. On 4 July 2024, the trial court took cognizance of not only the POCSO charge against Yediyurappa but also the charge against three others under Sections 204, 214 and 37 of the IPC, which deal with destruction of evidence and offering inducements to protect the accused.
Yediyurappa challenged this order in the Karnataka High Court, saying the judge’s reasoning was superficial. The high court agreed, calling the July order insufficiently reasoned and ordering the trial court to revisit the discovery issue.
The fast-track special court subsequently issued a fresh order on 28 February 2025 directing Yediyurappa and the other accused to appear in person on 15 March. Yediyurappa then returned to the High Court seeking quashing of the complaint as well as the renewed recognition order, saying the case was politically motivated and internally inconsistent.
The High Court refused to grant him relief, leading him to escalate the matter to the Supreme Court, which has now stayed the process and asked the state to respond.
