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Reserved on : 02.09.2026 Pronounced on : 16.10.2026 IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 16^TH DAY OF OCTOBER, 2026 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE M.NAGAPRASANNA CRIMINAL PETITION NO. 7632 OF 2025 BETWEEN:

SRI BASANAGOUDA R. PATIL (YATNAL)

S/O RAMANAGOUDA PATIL AGED ABOUT 62 YEARS, OCC.:MLA, VIJAYPURA CONSTITUENCY OLD IB, STATION ROAD, VIJAYPURA – 586 101, KARNATAKA.

ALSO AT:

SINDAGI ROAD MAHAL AINAPUR AINAPURA, BIJAPUR, KARNATAKA – 586 104.

…PETITIONER Digitally signed by (BY SRI GIRISH BHARADWAJ, ADVOCATE)

CHETAN B C Location:

AND:

High Court of Karnataka

1. STATE OF KARNATAKA BY HUBALLI TOWN POLICE STATION HUBALLI-DHARWAD – 580 001.

REPRESENTED BY STATE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA BENGALURU – 560 001.

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2. MOHAMMAD HANNAN S/O MUNIR AHMAD SHAIKH AGED ABOUT 38 YEARS, OCC.:BUSINESSMAN ADD.:NEAR BASARI BAVI, MANAGULI, AGASI VIJAYAPURA – 583 107.

…RESPONDENTS (BY SRI ANOOP KUMAR, ADDL.SPP FOR R-1;

SRI R.KOTHWAL, ADVOCATE FOR R-2)

THIS CRL.P IS FILED U/S 528 OF BNSS., PRAYING TO QUASH FIR IN CR.NO.51/2025 REGISTERED BY THE RESPONDENT NO.1 HUBBALLI TOWN P.S. PENDING ON THE FILE OF THE LEARNED J.M.F.C 1^ST COURT, HUBLI, HUBLI-DHARWAD FOR THE OFFENCES P/U/S 196(1), 299 AND 353(1) OF BNS 2023 PRODUCED AT DOCUMENT NO.1.

THIS CRIMINAL PETITION HAVING BEEN HEARD AND RESERVED FOR ORDERS ON 02.09.2026, COMING ON FOR PRONOUNCEMENT THIS DAY, THE COURT MADE THE FOLLOWING:-

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CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE M.NAGAPRASANNA

CAV ORDER

The petitioner is before the Court calling in question registration of a crime in Crime No.51 of 2025 registered for offences punishable under Sections 196(1), 299 and 353(1) of the BNS, 2023.

2. Heard Sri Girish Bharadwaj, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner, Sri Anoop Kumar, learned Additional State Public Prosecutor appearing for respondent No.1 and Sri R. Kothwal, learned counsel appearing for respondent No.2.

3. Facts, in brief, germane are as follows: -

The petitioner, a sitting Member of the Legislative Assembly addresses a speech on 07-04-2025. On the said speech the crime in Crime No.80 of 2025 comes to be registered before the Gandhi Chowk Police Station at Vijayapura. That is challenged before this Court in Criminal Petition No.5628 of 2025. The moment an interim order is granted, a second complaint on the same incident of speech comes to be registered on 17-04-2025. The said crime is registered in Hubballi Town Police Station coming under Hubballi South Division. Both the crimes are on account of a speech delivered by the petitioner on 07-04-2025. The registration of crime in Crime No.51 of 2025 is what has driven the petitioner to this Court in the subject petition.

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4. The learned counsel Sri Girish Bharadwaj appearing for the petitioner would vehemently contend that the crime is deliberately registered on two places so that the petitioner would not be in a position to take advantage of the interim order so granted by this Court in Crl.P.No.5628 of 2025. He would submit that there is no disharmony that has generated by the statement of the petitioner and the matter is completely covered by the judgments of the Apex Court on the issue.

5. Per contra, the learned counsel Sri R.Kothwal appearing for the 2^nd respondent would vehemently refute the submissions in contending that the statements of the petitioner, on the face of it, did generate communal disharmony and therefore, the matter has to be permitted to be tried. It cannot be closed at the threshold even if another crime on the same incident has been quashed. The present crime must be permitted to be investigated into. The learned counsel would take this Court through the application seeking vacation of the interim order and rely on plethora of judgments rendered on the issue.

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6. I have given my anxious consideration to the submissions made by the respective learned counsel and have perused the material on record.

7. The afore-narrated facts are a matter of record. The entire issue get