Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday will decide whether the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) recommendations against former Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa hold water to order a CBI probe.
As per the CEC report, former Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa`s family members had received Rs 6 crore in kickbacks from a mining firm.
The Central Empowered Committee, which was appointed by the Supreme Court to probe illegal mining and related bribery cases in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, submitted its recommendations to the apex court on March 29.
Earlier, reacting to the report, Yeddyurappa`s son BY Vijayendra had said in a statement late Thursday here that the amount was not a kickback but a loan taken through cheques.
The allegation is that Praveen Chandra, a mine operator, had given Rs 2.5 crore to a firm run by Yeddyurappa`s son-in-law RN Sohan Kumar and Rs 3.5 crore to another firm owned by Vijayendra and his brother BY Raghavendra as a favour for facilitating license.
Raghavendra is Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha member from Karnataka.
Vijayendra said the CEC report states that "the mining operations of Praveen Chandra are completely legal, however in the interest of the public, the above cheque transactions needs to be investigated".
The allegation has been made by an NGO, Samaaja Parivarthana Samudaya. The NGO has sought a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
In the statement, Vijayendra said his father Yeddyurappa, who quit July 31 last year over corruption charges and is pressuring his party`s national leaders for re-instatement, had not given any licence to Chandra.
Vijayendra said Chandra`s mining application was made to the central government in 2002 and approved by it in 2006 when Yeddyurappa was not the chief minister. He assumed office in May 2008.
"After the central government`s recommendation, the state government has passed final notification order on October 12, 2010," he said.
Vijayendra said of the Rs 6 crore, which he claimed were "unsecured loans" taken in November 2009 though cheques, Rs 2.5 crores had been paid back to Chandra.
With IANS inputs
