New Delhi, April 21 (UNI) The Supreme Court on Monday referred a plea by BJP leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, seeking to quash a 2011 land de-notification case, to a larger bench, noting that similar legal questions are already under consideration in another pending matter.
A bench comprising justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, which was scheduled to deliver its judgment, deferred the ruling after finding that key legal issues in Yediyurappa’s case mirrored those raised in the matter of Shamin Khan vs Debashish Chakrabarty & others, which had already been referred to a larger bench by a coordinate bench of the court on April 16.
“While drafting our judgment, we came across an order passed just a few days ago by another bench of this court referring identical questions to a larger bench. In the interest of judicial discipline, we believe this matter should also be considered by the same bench,” the court observed.
The court has now tagged Yediyurappa’s petition with the ongoing reference case Manju Surana vs Sunil Arora & Others, clarifying that it would be appropriate to await the outcome of that larger constitutional inquiry before deciding on the current plea.
Yediyurappa faces allegations of corruption relating to land de-notification during his tenure as Chief Minister in 2011. His petition challenges the continuation of proceedings, asserting legal grounds for quashing the case.
The outcome of his plea will now hinge on the broader determination of legal principles by the larger bench in the coming months.
