The Karnataka High Court on Monday stayed further investigation against Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and several others accused of extortion and allied offences in connection with the electoral bonds scheme.
Justice M Nagaprasanna passed the order on a petition filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member Nalin Kumar Kateel challenging the criminal complaint against him in the matter.
"Section 383 mandates any informant should have been put into fear. It is only then extortion can be established. Criminal law can be set into motion by any person. But in cases of 384, it can be set into motion only by the aggrieved ... Who is the complainant here becomes significant ... In this case, permitting further proceedings atleast until the objections have been filed will become an abuse of the process of law. Therefore, further proceedings are stayed until the next date," the Court said.
Last week, the city police had registered an FIR against Sitharaman, BJP chief JP Nadda, BJP National Executive Member Nalin Kumar Kateel, unknown officials of the Enforcement Directorate and some others after the the XLII Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate at Bengaluru took
cognisance of a private complaint filed against them.
The complaint filed by activist Adarsh R Iyer of non-governmental organisation (NGO) Janaadhikaara Sangharsha Parishath, alleged that BJP members, including Sitharaman and Nadda, in connivance with some ED officials, extorted private firms and made illegal gains under the Electoral Bonds Scheme that was
struck down by the Supreme Court in February this year.
Iyer had claimed that the accused committed “extortion under the guise and garb of electoral bonds and benefited to the tune of 8000 and more crores of INR.”
The complaint mentioned instances of raids by ED on companies such as Vedanta, Sterlite and Aurobindo Pharma to get their proprietors to donate money through the Electoral Bonds Scheme.
In a petition challenging the registration of a complaint in this matter, Kateel has claimed he and the others have been "falsely implicated" in the case "with an ulterior political motive."
Senior Advocate KG Raghavan appeared for Kateel and asserted that even a bare reading of the complaint would not making out allegation of extortion. He termed the complaint frivolous, vexatious and a complete abuse of the process of law.
"The entire allegation is extortion by accused using government agencies, by putting money in electoral bonds. That can never be extortion in eyes of law," he said.
He urged the Court to stay the criminal proceedings.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan appeared for a private respondent and countered that there is a "classic case of extortion" made out.
He added that there is no need to pass any interim order to stay proceedings against anyone since no coercive step has been taken yet.
"It's a perfectly valid case. At this stage, no plea can be raised that sanction has to be taken. Sanction has to be taken at the stage cognisance ... Today the plea is only that 'this is not a case of extortion.' I am saying this is the most classic case of extortion. If ever there is a case of extortion, this is it. When you put the fear of arrest and put the fear of raids etc. in the minds of a company and thereby induce them induce them with that fear to give electoral bonds to the party which controls the ED and thereafter the ED stops the action - what else is extortion? This is classic extortion," he said.
