Karnataka High Court sets aside State government’s 2024 decision to withdraw 43 criminal cases  

High Court of Karnataka overturns Government Order withdrawing 43 criminal cases, including Hubballi riots, following PIL petition.

The High Court of Karnataka on Thursday (May 29, 2025) set aside the Government Order (GO) issued in October 2024 for withdrawing 43 criminal cases, including the 2022 case of Hubballi riots, in which a mob had attacked and assaulted several police personnel over the issue of a controversial post on social media.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice N.V. Anjaria and Justice K.V. Aravind passed the order while allowing a PIL petition filed by Girish Bharadwaj, a city-based advocate.

“The GO is set aside. It is declared that the GO shall stand non est from inception. Consequences in law will follow...,” the Chief Justice said while reading out the operative portion of the order.

The impact of the judgement is that even if the proceedings in any of the 43 cases were already from the jurisdictional courts based on the October 15, 2024, GO, all those proceedings will resume from the stage at which they were withdrawn.

The petitioner had expressed concern as the 43 cases, which the Cabinet decided to withdraw, included the those in which serious charges under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, Prevention of Destruction of Public Property Act, 1984, and Religious Institution (Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1988 were invoked against some of the accused persons, including the 2022 case of Hubballi riots.

In a few other cases, which were proposed to be withdrawn, former Ministers, former MLAs, and persons belonging to influential organisations were arraigned as accused persons, the petitioner had pointed out while contending that the GO was violative of Section 321 of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cr. PC) as this provision specifically grants the authority to initiate any action for withdrawal from prosecution solely to the prosecutor.

Hence, it was argued on behalf of the petitioner that the State Cabinet had no power to issue the direction to the prosecutor to withdraw these criminal cases.