H.D. Kumaraswamy survives bigamy charge

Bangalore, April 9 (IANS) The Karnataka High Court Monday dismissed a petition charging former Karnataka Chief Minister and now Lok Sabha member H.D. Kumaraswamy of bigamy.

The petition, filed by a Bangalore advocate Sashidhar Belagumba, had sought Kumraswamy's disqualification from the Lok Sabha on the ground that he had married a second time even though his first wife is alive.

The advocate contented that since the Hindu Marriage Act prohibits bigamy, Kumaraswamy had committed a crime punishable under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code. Hence, the Lok Sabha speaker should be directed to disqualify Kumaraswamy from membership of the house.

Chief Justice Vikramajit Sen dismissed the petition on the ground the advocate had not produced any proof of the second marriage.

Belagumba had submitted news reports that claimed Kumaraswamy had married Kannada actress Radhika while his first wife Anita is alive. Anita is a member of the Karnataka assembly.

Kumaraswamy, son of former Prime Minister and Janata Dal-Secular president H.D. Deve Gowda is a well-known producer and distributor of Kannada films. He is the president of the Karnataka unit of JD-S and was chief minister in 2006-07.

Belagumba claimed that both Kumarasamy and Radhika had confirmed to the media that they had married.

When the petition was filed late last year, Kumaraswamy had declined to react, telling reporters in Bangalore that he would not like to talk about private matters with the press.