Bengaluru, December: The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday set aside a private complaint filed against Energy Minister KJ George over allegations of irregularities in the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) smart meter tender process. Justice MI Arun delivered the order while allowing George's plea seeking to quash the criminal case.
Former BESCOM Managing Director D Mahantesh Bilagi and Technical Director HJ Ramesh had also moved similar petitions challenging the proceedings.
The court noted that criminal action cannot continue against Bilagi as he recently died in a road accident, and accordingly terminated proceedings against him as well.
The case stemmed from a July 23 direction of an Additional City Civil and Sessions Court, which had ordered registration of a private complaint report (PCR) against George, Bilagi, and Ramesh.
The complaint filed by BJP leaders CN Ashwath Narayan, SR Vishwanath, and Dheeraj Muniraju alleged that the minister and BESCOM officials conspired to manipulate the tender for supplying and installing smart meters.
They had accused the officials of undervaluing the tender, relaxing eligibility norms, and violating procurement rules to benefit a preferred vendor.
The same July 23 order had also instructed the Lokayukta Police to file a status report on an earlier complaint submitted by the BJP leaders regarding the alleged lapses. With Tuesday's decision, the High Court has now quashed all related trial court proceedings.
