Karnataka High Court Rules Assembly Speaker Must Decide on HD Kumaraswamy Prosecution

On June 13, 2026, the Karnataka High Court in Bengaluru ruled that the Legislative Assembly Speaker must decide on the application seeking sanction to prosecute five political figures, including Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy, in connection with an alleged 2019 'Operation Kamala' case.

Justice S Sunil Dutt Yadav delivered the ruling, clarifying that the power to sanction the prosecution of legislative members lies with the Speaker of the house.

The judge cited a Supreme Court precedent involving former Prime Minister late PV Narasimha Rao, which established that obtaining sanction from the Lok Sabha Speaker or Rajya Sabha Chairman is necessary before filing a chargesheet against a Member of Parliament. Justice Yadav stated that the same logic applies to the state legislative assembly.

The legal battle originated from a private complaint filed before a special court by social activist TJ Abraham in 2020. Abraham had approached the Anti-Corruption Bureau alleging bribery and corruption during the political developments of 2019.

According to the complaint, the then Kolar MLA K Srinivas Gowda had allegedly received Rs 5 crore from BJP representatives—SR Vishwanath, Ashwath Narayan CN, and CP Yogeshwar—to defect to their party.

The activist claimed that Gowda informed the then Chief Minister, HD Kumaraswamy, about the transaction. To keep Gowda within the JD(S) fold, Kumaraswamy allegedly arranged for Rs 5 crore to be returned.

Abraham registered a private complaint before a special court, seeking action against the accused under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and also under the IPC.

The accused challenged the proceedings, and the High Court set aside the order of taking cognizance due to the lack of sanction. The special court was directed to obtain a sanction for the prosecution, leading Abraham to seek the sanction in March 2022 to proceed against the five politicians.