Former Karnataka CM Yediyurappa receives arrest warrant in POCSO case, likely to appear before court today

A fast-track court in Bengaluru issued a non-bailable warrant against former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa. The warrant is connected to a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) case, involving allegations of sexual harassment of a minor.

The warrant was issued after a plea from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), with Special Public Prosecutor Ashok H Nayak representing the CID.

Yediyurappa, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party parliamentary board, faces allegations under the POCSO Act and Section 354A (sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The First Fast Track Court for POCSO cases issued the warrant after the prosecution argued that Yediyurappa is powerful, had ignored a notice to appear for the investigation, and is currently in another state. The prosecution also claimed that Yediyurappa tried to hush up the case and offered Rs two lakh to the complainant to withdraw the complaint.

The charges are based on a complaint from the mother of a 17-year-old girl, who alleged that Yediyurappa sexually assaulted her daughter during a meeting at his Karnataka residence in February. The complainant, a 54-year-old woman, passed away last month due to lung cancer.

Yediyurappa is expected to appear before the court and record his statement on March 14.

On March 15, Karnataka Director General of Police Alok Mohan transferred the case to the CID. Yediyurappa has been charged under Section 354A (sexual harassment) of the IPC and Section 8 of the POCSO Act, both of which are cognizable and non-bailable offenses. Yediyurappa is currently in Delhi and is expected to return on Monday, according to his office.

However, Yediyurappa has rejected the allegations, and called them "baseless".

The 80-year-old BJP leader, BS Yediyurappa, served as Karnataka's Chief Minister several times between 2008 and 2011, briefly in May 2018, and again from 2019 to 2021. He resigned in 2021 after weeks of speculation and uncertainty.

Yediyurappa was succeeded by Basavaraj Somappa Bommai, who became the 23rd Chief Minister of Karnataka, serving from July 2021 to May 2023. The BJP has announced Bommai as its candidate for the Haveri constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.