Sting ops must be regulated: SC denies relief to K’taka scribes in DK Shivakumar sting gone awry

The Supreme Court refused on Tuesday to stay proceedings against two Karnataka journalists and TV9 director Mahendra Sharma in connection with a sting operation against Energy Minister DK Shivakumar that went awry. “All sting operations have to be regulated. One has to involve some police officers for trapping a public servant,” noted the two-judge bench hearing the case, reported Deccan Herald. The Court was hearing an appeal from the three media persons for quashing a Bengaluru court’s order that they stand trial for corruption and other charges. In the case from 2014, two journalists claimed to be representatives of a British energy company called EnergoPower, which was seeking clearance from the Energy Minister for a solar power project in the state. The duo had reportedly approached Shivakumar multiple times seeking early clearances for the project, and offered him bribes in kind and cash amounting to Rs 6 lakh. However, Shivakumar had suspected foul play and got the duo arrested by the police for attempting to bribe a minister. Shivakumar had become suspicious after checking on the credentials of the company they claimed to be representing. "I found out that the company had not even approached us officially for any project. I suspected foul play and directed the police to be stationed in my house in advance. They (the two journalists) were trying to frame and defame me in view of the (2014) Parliamentary polls," the minister was quoted as saying. TV9 had claimed that the sting operation had been conducted following complaints from the public to expose corruption in Karnataka, and that Shivakumar had initially demanded a bribe but had changed his tune when he realised that a sting operation was playing out. The channel had also filed a counter-complaint against the Minister’s supporters, claiming that they had assaulted the two journalists carrying out the sting. In July 2016, a trial court had ordered that charges be framed against the three media persons, and in November 2016, the High Court had refused to set aside this order. Although the legal counsel for the media persons had argued that the Prevention of Corruption Act could not be applied to them as they were not public servants, the two-judge bench comprising Justices Adarsh Kumar Goel and U U Lalit, responded that, “If somebody goes to a minister, tries to pay bribe and gets caught, then he has to prove his innocence in trial. If you are within your journalistic right, it has to be examined.”