The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday, November 4 quashed a criminal defamation case filed against former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah by the state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), LiveLaw reported. Justice M Nagaprasanna, while pronouncing the order, said, 'allowed, quashed'. A detailed copy of the order is awaited.

Source: LiveLaw

The case is Siddaramaiah v. State of Karnataka and Another, Criminal Petition No. 9760 of 2025. Siddaramaiah's criminal petition succeeded on Wednesday, and the order ends the proceedings against him alone, as the other accused's petitions were not the subject of this order, LawChakra reported.

Source: LawChakra

What the complaint alleged

The complaint by the state BJP unit was primarily against 'Corruption Rate Card' advertisements issued by the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) in local newspapers and alleged 'false campaigning' by the Congress ahead of the 2023 state assembly elections. The trial court had taken cognizance of the matter in 2023, LiveLaw reported.

Source: LiveLaw

According to the BJP's case, the advertisements damaged the party's image because they claimed certain 'rates' and 'commissions' are charged by the BJP for appointments and transfers to various positions in government departments — claims the BJP calls false and based on the 'fanciful imagination' of the accused. The BJP also claimed that the use of the words 'trouble engine Sarkar' in place of 'double engine Sarkar' showed an intention to malign the party and affect its election chances, LiveLaw reported. These are the complainant's allegations, as recorded in the report.

Source: LiveLaw

Earlier stays in the same case

Last year the High Court had stayed the trial court proceedings against Siddaramaiah. In the same complaint case, the court stayed the trial against Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi in January this year, and on July 4 extended similar relief to Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and to the KPCC, LiveLaw reported.

Source: LiveLaw

What happens next: the detailed order is awaited, and it will set out the court's reasoning for quashing the proceedings against Siddaramaiah. The quashing applies to Siddaramaiah alone on this petition.

Source: LawChakra