No speed governors, no fitness certificates, High Court tells Karnataka Govt

Bengaluru: The High Court on Wednesday directed the state government not to issue fitness certificates to vehicles that are not fitted with speed governors. Commercial and transport vehicles by law are needed to be fitted with speed governors.

The petitioner, Y.N. Nanjappa, a retired HAL employee, who lost his 20-year-old son N. Chetan in a road accident on the intermediate ring road in 1996, had sought implementation of the August 11, 2015 notification on fitting speed governors in commercial and transport vehicles. The petitioner had sought directions to ensure that speed governors are fitted at the time of issuing fitness certificate on all categories of transport vehicles.

The petitioner also sought quashing of the state government notification that had exempt transport vehicles that have speeds less than 80 kmph from fitting speed governors.

Laundering: FIR against Naik stayed
The High Court has stayed the FIR registered against Bheema Naik, the suspended Special Land Acquisition officer of the KAS cadre, accused of money laundering.

He had allegedly converted Rs 100 crore of old currency into new ones for former minister Gali Janardhana Reddy for a commission, before the marriage of Reddy's daughter.

A case was registered by the Mandya police following revelations by Naik's driver Ramesh Gowda, in his suicide note. He reportedly ended his life due to harassment by Naik for being witness to the illegal act. Later, the CID had taken up the probe.

Before being arrested Naik was on the run after his driver's suicide on December 7. Gowda had claimed that Reddy had laundered close to Rs 100 crore of black money by paying 20 per cent commission to Naik.

Money seized from car
The High Court has stayed the proceedings against Siddhartha, an advocate who is accused of ferrying unaccounted cash of

Rs 1.97 crore in his car, inside Vidhana Soudha premises. He had approached the court seeking to quash the case.