The police said the Congress leaders had blocked roads and inconvenienced commuters
The Karnataka High Court today ordered Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to appear in court on March 6 in a case of holding protests and blocking roads in 2022. Other Congress leaders who have been named in the case are ministers MB Patil and Ramalinga Reddy, and Randeep Singh Surjewala.
The court ordered the Congress leaders to physically appear before a special court for people's representatives.
Siddaramaiah and the other Congress leaders had held a protest in 2022, demanding former state minister and BJP leader KS Eshwarappa's arrest over alleged links in the death of a contractor, Santosh Patil.
The police said the Congress leaders had blocked roads and inconvenienced commuters.
The case was filed against them after they took out a march to lay siege to the then Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai's home in Bengaluru, demanding the resignation of Mr Eshwarappa, who was the rural development and panchayat raj minister at the time.
They held the protest after the contractor, Santosh Patil, alleged Mr Eshwarappa demanded 40 per cent commission for a project in his village. Santosh Patil died by suicide after making the allegations.
The high court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on Siddaramaiah and the Congress leaders for making a police officer a respondent in the case without valid reasons.
The police officer was made a respondent in a counter-case filed on behalf of Siddaramaiah.
Today's order came after Siddaramaiah requested the high court to scrap the case against the Congress leader.