Valmiki corporation case: As State’s official backs out from pursuing his complaint, Karnataka High Court quashes FIR against two ED officials

A view of the High Court of Karnataka building.
| Photo Credit: File Photo

B. Kallesh, an Additional Director of the Social Welfare Department and ex-officio director in the State-run Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Welfare Development Corporation, on Friday told the High Court of Karnataka that he is not interested in pursuing his complaint against two officials of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for allegedly coercing him to name Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and former Minister B. Nagendra in connection with the corporation’s multi-crore financial scam.

Citing a memo

Taking a memo filed on behalf Mr. Kallesh stating that he his not interested in pursuing his complaint, the court quashed the first information report (FIR) registered against Manoj Mittal, Deputy Director, and Murali Kannan, Assistant Director, ED, Bengaluru, based on Mr. Kallesh’s complaint.

Justice M. Nagaprasanna passed the order while disposing of the petition filed by the ED officials, who had questioned the legality of registration of the FIR against them on July 22.

The court on July 24 had stayed the probe against the petitioner ED officials by observing that “if this crime is permitted, even if it is for an offence of criminal intimidation and insult under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Act, 2023, it would become an abuse of process of law, albeit prima facie, against officers of the ED, who performed their duties after registration of an enforcement case information report (ECIR).”

What petition said

The petition said that the FIR was registered as a counterblast and to exert undue influence on the probe being conducted by the ED under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act into the financial misappropriation of the corporation.

Mr. Kallesh had appeared before the ED officials on July 16 and had answered 17 questions and had taken time to answer a few questions stating that he requires time to refer to the documents for that purpose. However, Mr. Kallesh did not appear before the ED on July 18 as was required but later filed the FIR on July 22. The State Advocate-General in July had defended before the High Court the action of registering the FIR.