Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Oct 14: The state government has defended its decision to extern Mahesh Shetty Thimarodi, who has been leading a campaign seeking justice for the death of Soujanya, asserting that the order was issued in accordance with due legal procedure and that no principles of natural justice were violated.
The externment order, which directs Thimarodi to stay in Manvi, Raichur district for one year, was challenged by him before the Karnataka high court. The petition came up for hearing on Monday before the single-judge bench of Justice Suraj Govindaraj.
During the hearing, senior advocate Taranath Poojary, appearing for the petitioner, argued that the externment order was riddled with several procedural lapses. He alleged that both the government and the Home Department appeared to be acting against Thimarodi. Poojary stated that no details of the criminal cases against Thimarodi were provided, adding that he had already been acquitted in around ten cases, while ‘B’ reports had been filed in two others. He further contended that claims made about Thimarodi possibly inciting violence during the Lok Sabha elections were unsupported by evidence, and that the assertion that witnesses feared to come forward because of him was false.
Countering these arguments, advocate general K Shashikiran Shetty maintained that the submissions made by Thimarodi’s counsel were incorrect. He said that as a local resident, Thimarodi’s activities under the banner of the Soujanya movement were well known to the people. The advocate general asserted that the government had not acted in violation of natural justice, and that the externment order was issued without any procedural lapses.
After hearing the detailed arguments from both sides, the court reserved its judgment. It also extended the interim order previously issued, which restrains authorities from taking any coercive action against Thimarodi in connection with the externment order.