The Karnataka High Court on Thursday stayed a case of alleged Model Code of Conduct (MCC) violation filed against Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar. The case was based on a complaint filed by the BJP on April 19 alleging that Shivakumar tried to blackmail voters at Rajarajeshwari Nagar by promising Cauvery water supply if they voted for the Congress. A single-judge bench of Justice Krishna S Dixit stayed the case until the next date of hearing before the high court, observing that further consideration was needed as to whether Shivakumar’s comments were within the parameters of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections he was charged under. However, the bench did note that the standards of speeches during elections had fallen “abysmally low” and took note of a submission by Shivakumar’s counsel that he had been advised to be more cautious in his language. Earlier, Justice Dixit had also commented that political leaders ought to be “measured” in their speeches while hearing an appeal regarding a case filed against alleged comments by BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje. The said case had also been stayed.
