Mon Feb 03 13:29:25 IST 2025: **Supreme Court Dismisses Petition Challenging Quashing of FIR Against BJP Leader**
NEW DELHI, February 3, 2025 – The Supreme Court of India today dismissed a special leave petition challenging a Karnataka High Court decision to quash a First Information Report (FIR) against Nalin Kumar Kateel, former president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state unit. The FIR, filed by Adarsh R. Iyer, co-president of the Janaadhikaara Sangharsha Parishath, alleged extortion of approximately ₹8,000 crore. The complaint also named Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and others.
The Supreme Court Bench, comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar, found the complaint lacking in material evidence to support the extortion claims. The court stated that the complaint was “full of assumptions” and that Iyer, as a third party, lacked sufficient grounds for the FIR.
While the petitioner’s lawyer argued that the complaint showed individuals were intimidated by the threat of Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids, the court maintained that it could not act on mere speculation. The court also noted that the electoral bonds scheme, central to the allegations, had already been addressed in previous Supreme Court rulings.
The Supreme Court’s dismissal of the petition does not preclude future FIRs based on credible evidence. The court clarified that its decision does not prevent any individual possessing sufficient material and evidence from filing a justified FIR.
First Piper 