Karnataka High Court upholds conviction of former Mudigere MLA M.P. Kumaraswamy in cheque dishonour case

The High Court of Karnataka has upheld the judgments of the trial courts in convicting M.P. Kumaraswamy, a former MLA from the Mudigere Assembly Constituency, in eight cheque dishonour cases and sentencing him to pay to the complainant a total amount of ₹1.23 crore, failing which to undergo a simple imprisonment of six months in each case.

“The law is clearly goaded against the petitioner. I do not find any error of jurisdiction or perversity in the orders, to re-appreciate the evidence and come to my own conclusion, other than the evidence that has already been appreciated by the two trial courts,” said Justice M. Nagaprasanna dismissing the former legislator’s revision petitions.

A special court of magistrate for the criminal cases against former and present MLAs and MPs on February 13, 2023 convicted Mr. Kumaraswamy on the complaint lodged in 2020 by H.R. Huvappa Gowda, a resident of Chikkamagaluru city. On July 19, 2023, a special court of sessions for the criminal cases against former and present MLAs and MPs rejected the appeal filed by Mr. Kumaraswamy against the judgment passed by the special court of magistrate. Later, Mr. Kumaraswamy moved the High Court questioning the legality of these two judgments.

However, the High Court found no merit in the petition by pointing out that both the magistrate and the sessions courts have extensively examined the documentary evidence, including bank statements, which clearly demonstrated the financial transactions between the parties. The courts have refused to accept Mr. Kumaraswamy’s contention that the complaint was financially incapable of lending such a huge amount of money to him as the former did not provide any evidence in support of such claim.

Mr. Kumaraswamy and Mr. Gowda shared a long acquaintance. In 2018, Mr. Gowda withdrew earlier three cheque-dishonour complaints after receiving partial payment from Mr. Kumaraswamy before the latter contested elections. The complainant later alleged that Mr. Kumaraswamy borrowed more money, issued fresh cheques, and they were dishonoured due to insufficient funds.