MP Kumaraswamy | Photo credit: FILE PHOTO
The Karnataka High Court upheld the judgments of the trial courts by convicting Kumaraswamy, a former MLA from the Mudigere Assembly constituency, in eight check dishonor cases and ordering him to pay a total sum of ₹1.23 million to the complainant or face simple imprisonment for six months in each case.
“The law is clearly against the petitioner. I do not find any jurisdictional error or perversity in the orders to re-appreciate the evidence and come to my own conclusion, apart from the evidence already appreciated by the two trial courts,” Justice M Nagaprasanna said while dismissing the review petitions of the former lawmaker.
A Special Magistrate’s Court for criminal cases against former and present MLAs and MPs on 13 February 2023 convicted Mr. Kumaraswamy on a complaint filed in 2020 by HR Huvappa Gowda, a resident of Chikkamagaluru. On 19 July 2023, a special sessions court for criminal cases against former and current MLAs and MPs dismissed an appeal filed by Mr. Kumaraswamy against the judgment of the special magistrate court. Later, Mr. Kumaraswamy urged the Supreme Court to challenge the legality of the two judgments.
However, the High Court found no merit in the motion, pointing out that both the Magistrate and the Courts of Appeal had thoroughly scrutinized the documentary evidence, including bank statements, which clearly showed financial transactions between the parties. The courts refused to accept Mr. Kumaraswamy’s contention that the complainant was financially unable to lend him such a huge amount of money as the former did not provide any evidence to support such a claim.
Mr. Kumaraswamy and Mr. Gowda shared a long acquaintance. In 2018, Mr Gowda withdrew the previous three check dishonor complaints after receiving a partial payment from Mr Kumaraswamy ahead of the second disputed election. The complainant later alleged that Mr Kumaraswamy borrowed more money, issued new checks and these were dishonored due to lack of funds.
Published – 11 March 2026 20:58 IST
