The Supreme Court on Monday announced that no criminal proceedings would continue against Naleen Kumar Kateel, the former president of the Karnataka BJP, regarding allegations of extortion connected to the electoral bond scheme. This decision came after the court refused to entertain an appeal challenging a Karnataka High Court verdict from December 3, 2024, which had previously quashed the criminal proceedings.
Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar dismissed the appeal by Adarsh R Iyer of the “Janaadhikaaara Sangharsha Parishath,” stating, “There are no specific allegations and there are no materials also…we will not allow any roving inquiry.” Iyer, represented by advocate Prashant Bhushan, had argued that the scheme was used to extract money from corporate entities using probe agencies like the Enforcement Directorate.
The bench emphasized the lack of concrete evidence as a reason for their decision, noting, “We are not inclined to interfere with the high court order.” However, they clarified that the dismissal of this particular plea does not preclude the filing of future cases or FIRs if they are supported by substantive evidence.
The Karnataka High Court had ruled that the complaint lacked legal standing and failed to establish even a prima facie case of extortion. It noted that the complainant was not directly affected by the alleged extortion and therefore lacked the locus standi to file the complaint. The high court criticized the trial court’s lack of judicial discretion in initially referring the case for investigation under Section 156(3) of the CrPC, commenting that “a magistrate cannot act as a mere rubber stamp to a complaint alleging extortion without verifying its merit.”
Moreover, the high court found that the essential ingredients of the offense of extortion were not met in the allegations. The original complaint by Iyer had claimed that Kateel, along with other BJP leaders and officials, coerced corporations into buying electoral bonds under the threat of government raids, implicating officials from the Enforcement Directorate as well.
