Sampangi out on Bail by HC

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bangalore: Jailed KGF MLA Y Sampangi has something to cheer. The Karnataka high court on Tuesday granted him bail and also suspended the operation of the verdict of the special Lokayukta court imposing a sentence of 3-and-ahalf years RI upon him in the bribery case.
    Justice V Jagannathan directed Sampangi to furnish a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh and two sureties for like sum and also asked him to deposit the Rs 90,000fineimposedby theLokayukta court. He has been told not to leave the country without permission. The judge also ordered noticetoLokayukta policeon another application filed by Sampangi seeking a stay on conviction. He posted the matter for hearing on June 18 asking Lokayukta police to file objections.
    Sampangi, who had filed a criminal revision petition, sought the court’s permission to convertthesameinto a criminal appeal which enabled him to challenge the conviction also.
    Pressing for suspension of sentence and stay on conviction, Sampangi’s counsel argued that if the conviction is not stayed, there are chances of him losing the membership of the assembly. However, the counsel representing the Lokayukta police opposed both the applications saying that the court needs to hear them before granting any interim relief asit is a special case. Sampangi has claimed that the verdict against him was unjustified as the complainant and other witnesses have been treated as hostile by the special judge.
The case
Lokayukta police laid a trap for Sampangi after a businessman from KGF, Hussein Moyeen Farooq, filed a complaint against him on January 29, 2009 alleging that Sampangi had demanded a bribe of Rs 5 lakh from him to prevent trespassing of his property.