Belagavi
The Supreme Court has issued notices over a disproportionate assets case against Abhay Patil, BJP MLA from Belgaum South constituency, people familiar with the matter said
A Supreme Court bench, consisting of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, issued the notices to Karnataka assembly speaker UT Khader, MLA Abhay Patil, and Bengaluru Lokayukta, asking them to respond within four weeks.
The next hearing is scheduled for February 19.
The Belagavi-based Brasthachar Nirmulan Pariwar, an anti-corruption committee, has taken the matter to the Supreme Court, according to Sujit Mulagund, the organisation’s convenor.
“I filed a suit with the apex court against BJP legislator Abhay Patil. The case was brought before the board on January 19 and the second hearing has been postponed to February 19, 2024, citing the case’s merit.” Mulagund said.
In his lawsuit, Mulagund alleged that MLA Patil, during his initial election to the state assembly in 2003, declared total assets of around ₹40 lakh in the affidavit filed for candidacy. This figure increased to around ₹75 lakh in the 2008 election. Suspecting that Patil had earned an additional ₹35 lakh illegally between 2003 and 2008, Mulagund filed a complaint with the Special Belagavi Lokayukta Court on November 19, 2012, under Section 200 CrPC.
Due to the slow progress of the investigation, he approached the Lokayukta Court in Bengaluru, which directed its Belagavi branch to expedite the inquiry.
{{/usCountry}}Due to the slow progress of the investigation, he approached the Lokayukta Court in Bengaluru, which directed its Belagavi branch to expedite the inquiry.
{{/usCountry}}“Despite the order from the Bengaluru Lokayukta court, its Belagavi court intentionally continued delaying to help the accused,” he said.
MLA Patil lost the 2013 election to the late Sambhaji Patil, who secured victory with the support of the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES).
Before Lokayukta was abolished in 2015, Deputy SP Karunakar Shetty, who was investigating the case, observed that Patil’s property had increased by 346.73 times the ₹40 lakh reported in 2003.
However, the report went unattended. Frustrated with Lokayukta, Mulagund filed a suit with the Karnataka High Court at Dharwad, which dismissed the case on January 15, 2023, on technical grounds. Mulagund then approached the Supreme Court, filing a suit with relevant documents on January 8, 2024.
MLA Patil dismissed the case as lacking substance and being intentionally framed to mentally harass him and defame his family’s image. “Neither the Lokayukta nor the High Court bench entertained the petition, as it was not reliable. It was tabled without relevant material evidence, and no suit filing procedure was followed. The complainant is just seeking attention and has taken the matter to the Supreme Court, which, like the High Court, would also have it quashed there,” MLA Patil said.
About his increased assets after becoming the legislator in 2003, he said he has earned the property legally and is also paying taxes regularly to the government. “Buying property legally and investing in shares, businesses, etc., is not wrong,” he said. “Our family has been affluent from the beginning and involved in several businesses. We have agriculture fields and rice polishing mills, which have contributed to our success in business,” Patil said.