Karnataka High Court on Monday adjourned to tomorrow, the writ petitions filed by Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) seeking stay of the Lokayukta Court order initiating probe into the project.
When the petitions filed by NICE and its sister concerns came up for hearing before Justice H Billappa, senior counsel for the petitioners, Dushyanth Dave submitted that the agreement that was entered into with NICE was valid and proper and “there is nothing to show that the state acted with malafide to achieve improper and corrupt gains” and that the agreement was not to fritter away any resource”.
He contended the submission that the contract was entered in a “clandestine manner” cannot be accepted and the toll collected for the road constructed was “not opposed to public policy”.
Quoting Supreme Court and High Court judgements in similar allegations pertaining to the case, Dave contended that when CBI inquiry has been denied by the apex court and when the High Court has said there is no criminality, “subordinate court ordering investigation, raises serious questions about the rule of law”.
“It was judicial order (of probe) that was passed by the Lokayukta Court and requires judicial application of mind... each of these allegations has been examined by the Supreme Court, the learned judge (Lokayukta) should have exercised his mind,” Dave contended, adding, barely on the basis of surmises, a criminal investigation cannot be ordered.
Dave submitted that there was “not one word about prima facie corruption in the 500-page order”. Further pointing out that there were over a 100 accused including a sitting judge in the complaint, he submitted that every individual’s right has to be protected and the “order of investigation has serious repercussions”.
