On Monday, the Karnataka High Court granted a stay on the investigation involving Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and other senior BJP leaders regarding alleged irregularities tied to the now-abandoned poll bonds scheme. Justice M. Nagaprasanna issued the interim order in response to a petition filed by BJP leader Nalin Kumar Kateel, who is named as an accused in the FIR.
The case will be revisited on October 22. An FIR was registered against Sitharaman and others on Saturday under the direction of a special court, following a complaint linked to the electoral bonds scheme.
The complaint, submitted by Adarsh Iyer of the Janaadhikara Sangharsha Sanghatane (JSP), accuses Sitharaman and her associates of running an extortion operation disguised as an electoral bonds initiative. The petitioner claims that corporate entities were pressured to buy electoral bonds amounting to thousands of crores, with raids by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) used as intimidation tactics.
According to the allegations, these electoral bonds were allegedly redeemed by BJP leaders at both national and state levels, facilitating the accumulation of illicit funds for political purposes. The complaint asserts that Sitharaman and other senior BJP officials were complicit in this process.
In February, the Supreme Court invalidated the poll bonds scheme, ruling that it infringed upon the right to information and the freedom of speech and expression as guaranteed by the Constitution.
