The Karnataka Cabinet has approved the withdrawal of 60 criminal cases against political workers and members of the public at large, including 11 first information reports related to protests against the arrest of Congress leader DK Shivakumar in 2019, The Indian Express reported.

The cases were filed when Karnataka had a Bharatiya Janata Party government. The Congress is now in power in the state.

The first information reports were filed at four police stations in the Bengaluru South district, which was then called Ramanagar. The police had booked the accused persons under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.

Workers of the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) had been accused of violating orders prohibiting public gatherings and throwing stones at state-run buses to protest Shivakumar’s arrest in September 2019, The Indian Express reported. The Janata Dal (Secular), now a coalition partner of the Bharatiya Janata Party, was then an ally of the Congress.

Shivakumar, now the Karnataka deputy chief minister, was arrested on allegations of money laundering and tax evasion. He was released on bail in October 2019.

The cases against the protesters have been withdrawn based on petitions submitted by Karnataka Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara and the chief whip of the government in the Legislative Assembly, Ashok Pattan, The Indian Express quoted a cabinet note as saying.

The cabinet also approved the withdrawal of a 2012 case against five supporters of Congress MP DK Suresh, Shivakumar’s brother, who were booked for obstructing officials after being denied permission to pay floral tributes to the statues of BR Ambedkar and Kempegowda.

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