Bengaluru: The High Court on Friday stayed proceedings on a case registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) against T N Chikkarayappa, suspended MD of Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Ltd. for possessing assets allegedly disproportionate to his known sources of income.Justice Anand Byrareddy passed this order after Chikkarayappa’s counsel claimed that ACB has not been conferred with the power to register a case and investigate it.

The ACB had registered the case after the Income Tax Department had raided the premises belonging to Chikkarayappa and registered separate cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

While the ACB had claimed that assets worth over Rs. 3.5 crore was found during the raids, the counsel for Chikkarayappa claimed that the Income Tax Department had assessed his properties properly, and the ACB had not done so.