Justice Abhay Oka to mediate between Kumaraswamy and IPS officer M Chandrashekar

Last month, on the court’s suggestion, Kumaraswamy and Chandrashekar agreed to join the mediation process. The court then said it would suggest a mediator’s name, as it felt that if either party suggested one, there could be misgivings. Accordingly, the court named Justice Oka, a decision both parties agreed to.

On February 12, the court had orally said, “If it is compoundable, both of you can ‘bury the hatchet’. Sometimes, remarks are made, the media is the only beneficiary. TRPs will go on and on and keep on increasing. There may have been something, and I do not deny it, and you may be aggrieved. If it is open on just terms, there could be a closure.”

Chandrashekar, who heads the Lokayukta Special Investigation Team (SIT) and is investigating illegal mining cases in which Kumaraswamy is an accused, alleged that on September 28 and 29, 2024, the former Karnataka chief minister held a press conference where he made false accusations and issued threats. Kumaraswamy has also allegedly accused Chandrashekar of bribery and falsifying documents to remain in the Karnataka IPS cadre.

After Chandrashekar filed a complaint in October last year, the Sanjay Nagar police station in Bengaluru registered an FIR, following a court direction, under Section 224 (threatening a public servant) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Thereafter, Kumaraswamy and others moved the high court seeking to quash the FIR.