HC asks former DGP to amend petition

The High Court of Karnataka on Monday directed retired Director General of Police (Prisons) H N Sathyanarayana Rao to amend his petition to include seeking direction to quash the first information report registered against him by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), and granted a day's time for the same.

Justice Raghavendra Chauhan was hearing a petition filed by Rao, questioning the state government's order directing the ACB to register a case against him in connection with an alleged bribery case. The matter was adjourned to March 20.  

The government, in its order dated February 26, had directed the ACB to register a case of criminal misconduct by a public servant under Sections 13(1) (C) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, on the complaint that Rao had allegedly accepted a bribe of Rs 2 crore for providing special facilities in violation of the law to AIADMK leader V K Sasikala, who is serving a four-year imprisonment in a disproportionate assets case in the central prison in Parappana Agrahara.

The Vinay Kumar committee was formed to probe the irregularities in the central prison. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was said to have  directed Rao to provide a bed and pillow to Sasikala.

However, Siddaramaiah denied the allegations.