The Karnataka High Court on Thursday stayed the state cabinet’s decision to withdraw prosecution in 52 criminal cases, dealing an immediate setback to the Congress government’s controversial decision that had sparked allegations of political favouritism and appeasement.India NewsA bench of Chief Justices Vibhu Bakhru and KS Hemalekha also directed that “no public prosecutor shall act upon the Government Order until further orders.”Issuing notice to the state government and the Directorate of Prosecution, the High Court posted the matter for further hearing on July 27 and directed the respondents to file their replies within two weeks.The State’s decision to withdraw the cases had drawn sharp criticism from the opposition, particularly the BJP, which had accused the Congress government of selectively dropping prosecutions involving communal violence and politically influential persons.Among the cases approved for withdrawal were seven arising out of the 2022 communal violence at the Hazrat Ladle Mashak Dargah in Aland, in Kalaburgi district in Karnataka, besides cases involving pro-Kannada organisations, farmers’ groups and Dalit activists.The state however, has maintained that its decision was the outcome of a detailed “Cabinet sub-committee review.”The High Court issued the interim order on a Public Interest Litigation filed by advocate Girish Bharadwaj, who has sought quashing of the Government Order on the ground that it unlawfully directed prosecutors to withdraw criminal cases.The petition argues that under Section 360 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, the decision to withdraw a prosecution rests “exclusively with the public prosecutor, subject to the consent of the trial court, and not with the executive.”The petitioner also contended that the GO was identical to an earlier order issued by the state in October 2024, which another bench of the High Court had quashed in May last year, after holding that the executive could not usurp the independent discretion vested in public prosecutors.According to the petition, the withdrawal process was initiated after former Karnataka Legislative Assembly Speaker UT Khader wrote to the state home minister seeking withdrawal of cases arising from the Aland communal violence, describing the accused as “innocent persons.”The plea further alleges that the Directorate of Prosecution had subsequently advised that the cases did not satisfy the legal requirements for withdrawal. Despite this, the Cabinet approved the withdrawal of prosecution in 52 cases.The petition also requested an appropriate order or direction in the nature of guidelines governing the exercise of the power of withdrawal of prosecution under Section 321 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 / Section 360 of the BNSS binding upon the state of Karnataka and all its agencies.The petition also alleges that many of the cases involve serious offences, including “rioting, unlawful assembly, promoting enmity between communities, assault on public servants, damage to public property and attempt to murder.”It says that the Cabinet ignored the independent opinions of the prosecution department and police authorities and acted for extraneous political considerations rather than public interest.While granting interim relief, the bench led by Chief Justice Bakhru recorded the petitioner’s submission that the GO was contrary to the Court’s earlier judgment striking down a similar order. “In view of the above, the impugned order is stayed till the next date of hearing,” the bench said.