Bangalore:
Former Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and Housing Minister V Somanna appeared before a Lokayukta court on Wednesday in a case relating to alleged irregularities in denotification of land.
Special Lokayukta Court Judge N K Sudhindra Rao posted the case to June 30.
The judge had, in April, directed Yeddyurappa, Somanna, his wife Shailaja and a person named Lingaraju to appear before the court.
On March 21, the Lokayukta police probing the case had filed a 'B' report absolving Somanna of charges of "misusing his position" in the case, stating that he was neither an MLA nor a minister during the period when the said land was denotified and therefore there was no case to proceed against him.
The others accused in the case, including Yeddyurappa, were also absolved of the charges. The' B' report was challenged by complainant Ravi Krishna Reddy on March 29.
On January 17, the Karnataka High Court had granted anticipatory bail to all the accused in the case.
The complainant had alleged that Somanna used his position as a minister to secure denotification of 22 guntas (one gunta is about 1,086 sq ft) of land in Nagadevanahalli village for an educational institution run by his wife, despite the land having been acquired by Bangalore Development Authority.
After the Lokayukta court took cognisance of the complaint, all the four moved the High Court for anticipatory bail.
Yeddyurappa, while he was the Karnataka Chief Minister, had allegedly ordered for denotification of the land on the request of the erstwhile land owner Lingaraju, according to the complaint. his studies in Chennai and instead wanted to shift his education to nearby Namakkal or Rasipuram. However they persuaded him otherwise.
On Monday night, he told his parents he was going back to Chennai, but went to the school instead and hanged himself. Students on Wednesday morning spotted the body and informed the teachers, who in turn informed police.