New Delhi, DHNS: Former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has denied before the Supreme Court any wrongdoing in passing orders for denotification of land during his tenure.

The registration of 15 FIRs on the direction of the Lokayukta on the basis of Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) reports was “completely misplaced” and has rightly been quashed by the Karnataka High Court, he submitted.

In an affidavit, Yeddyurappa said, “The CAG report cannot be the sole basis for registration of the FIR. Since the reports (2010-11 and 2012) submitted to the Governor on November 21, 2012 is in the process of consideration of the Public Accounts Committee, no other authority can act upon the said report.”

Responding to Karnataka’s petition challenging the High Court's order of January 5, he maintained that it was not permissible for the state machinery or the police to have registered FIRs on the basis of certain remarks in the CAG reports, considered to be the property of the House.

He also contended that the CAG reports did not contain any incriminating materials, which could indicate any offence or criminality on his part. “Mere administrative order unaccompanied by an allegation of illegal gratification cannot be subject matter of criminal investigation,” Yeddyurappa asserted.

Yeddyurappa also justified the orders for denotificaton of land, saying, “Those of lands which were not utilised by the beneficiary of the acquisition for a consideration time and in respect of which the government was satisfied that the land may not be required for public purpose were either denotified or given up from acquisition proceedings.”

He also cited the Bangalore Development Authority Act to claim that in cases the developer failed to execute the scheme within five years, it would lapse.

The state BJP?president submitted that the High Court has rightly held that the Lokayukta was not invested with jurisdiction to probe into the offences with the penal laws and complaint lodged before it by one Jaykumar Hiremath cannot take over the colour of information of offence as mandated under the Criminal Procedure Code.

The order for registration of 15 FIRs on the basis of a single complaint was mala fide, illegal and used as a tool for harassment, he claimed.

He also relied upon the Apex Court’s judgement in Arun Kumar Agrawal Vs Union of India (2013), which had declined to order a CBI probe on the basis of CAG report into the approval granted by the government for acquisition of majority stake in Cairn India Ltd for $8.48 billion.

The Supreme Court is likely to consider the matter on October 17.