BANGALORE: The State Government on Friday afternoon filed a defamation case against the suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLC G. Janardhan Reddy for making "unwarranted, unfounded, baseless and reckless" (defamatory) statements against Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and accusing him of having collected money from mine owners in Bellary.

Special Public Prosecutor C.H. Hanumantharaya filed the defamation case under Section 199 (2, 3,4, and 5) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in the court of the Principal City Civil and Sessions Judge, Bangalore, Keshava Narayan. The court posted the case for Tuesday to hear Mr. Hanumantharaya before taking cognisance. In its application, the State said the accused (Mr. Reddy) is an MLC and that he had a tendency to level unfounded allegations. It said Mr. Reddy had faced criminal prosecution in a case in which he had made serious allegations against a person, found guilty and sentenced to pay Rs. 5,000 as fine.

It said Mr. Reddy addressed a press meet in Bellary on July 6 where he had made defamatory statements against the Chief Minister. On July 19, 2 Mr. Reddy reiterated the remarks he had made at the press meet both on the floor of the Legislative Council and before presspersons. These statements, Mr. Hanumantharaya said, were derogatory and defamatory in nature and have been published in 21 newspapers and television channels.

The State produced copies of several newspapers of July 7, 15 and 20, including The Hindu , in which the MLC's charges were reported. It accused Mr. Reddy of deliberately making remarks against the Chief Minister and his family members for creating a negative impression and to portray a corrupt image of Mr. Kumaraswamy. His allegations had conveyed the impression that the Chief Minister had received kickbacks by resorting to illegal means. It said the imputations against the Chief Minister had "seriously eroded the honesty, integrity and social status acquired by the Chief Minister and his family members. In public meetings, people are avoiding meeting him and the intimacy and warmth shown to him earlier is disappearing. The imputations have a tendency to bring down the Chief Minister into hatred, ridicule and contempt."

It said the imputations are deliberate and meant to harass and blackmail the Chief Minister and his family members. It urged the court to look into the defamatory statements made by Mr. Reddy, secure his presence and deal with him in accordance with the law. The State has annexed a list of 10 persons as witnesses, including Mr. Kumaraswamy himself and the reporters/representatives of 29 newspapers and television channels. It said the names and addresses of the reporters would be furnished in due course of time. It reserved the right to produce news clippings of the remarks made by Mr. Reddy.

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