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HC quashes defamation complaint against CM, Siddaramaiah over BJP ‘rate card’ campaign
In Short
Justice M. Nagaprasanna passed the order, although the detailed judgment is yet to be made available. The order follows earlier relief granted to Shivakumar, who was Deputy Chief Minister at the time, when the High Court stayed proceedings in the criminal defamation case against him on July 4.
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Bengaluru: Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah have received major relief in a defamation case filed by the BJP over the Congress’s alleged misinformation campaign during the 2023 Assembly elections. The Karnataka High Court has quashed the private complaint against them.
Justice M. Nagaprasanna passed the order, although the detailed judgment is yet to be made available. The order follows earlier relief granted to Shivakumar, who was Deputy Chief Minister at the time, when the High Court stayed proceedings in the criminal defamation case against him on July 4. The Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) had also secured similar relief. In January this year, the High Court had stayed proceedings against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the same case.
The controversy relates to advertisements published by the KPCC in local newspapers ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections. The advertisements carried a ‘corruption rate card’ accusing the then BJP government of collecting specific commissions for appointments and transfers in various government departments.
The campaign alleged that the BJP government had fixed rates for different government-related activities and used the slogan ‘Trouble Engine Government’ in place of the BJP’s popular ‘Double Engine Government’ slogan. The BJP argued that the advertisements were false, defamatory and intended to damage the party’s reputation ahead of the Assembly elections.
It alleged that the Congress leaders had made baseless accusations based on fabricated claims to influence voters and undermine the BJP’s electoral prospects.
Keshav Prasad, on behalf of the BJP, had filed the defamation complaint against the Congress leaders. The trial court took cognisance of the complaint in 2023. The BJP maintained that the campaign had deliberately portrayed its government as corrupt and damaged the party’s image among voters.
