Karnataka bribery case: SC seeks BJP MLA’s response on Lokayukta’s plea against his anticipatory bail

PTI, Mar 27, 2023, 2:05 PM IST

The Supreme Court on Monday sought the response of BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa on a plea of the Karnataka Lokayukta challenging grant of anticipatory bail to him by the high court in the Karnataka Soaps and Detergents (KSDL) contract scam case.

A bench of justices Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia issued the notice to the BJP legislator. On March 14, the top court had agreed to hear the Lokayukta’s plea against the Karnataka high court order in the case.

The BJP MLA’s son Prashanth Madal, who is the chief accounts officer of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board, was arrested by the Lokayutka police on March 2 while allegedly receiving a bribe of Rs 40 lakh on behalf of his father at the KSDL office.

A single-judge bench of the high court had granted the anticipatory bail to the MLA after hearing his petition. Virupakashappa had resigned as chairperson of KSDL following his son’s arrest.

While granting the conditional bail, the high court had directed the MLA to appear before the investigating officer in the case within 48 hours of receiving the order copy. The anticipatory bail was granted subject to a bond of Rs 5 lakh.

Virupakshappa was also directed not to tamper with the witness while on bail. The MLA’s petition claimed that he had no role to play in the alleged bribery case and he has been falsely implicated in it.

The alleged scam relates to the supply of chemical to KSDL in which a bribe of Rs 81 lakh was allegedly demanded. His son was allegedly caught while receiving Rs 40 lakh of this bribe on his behalf.

Following the arrest of Prashanth Madal, the Lokayukta police had conducted further search operations in the home and offices of the Madals and recovered over Rs 8.23 crore in cash.