Bengaluru, Oct. 14 -- The Karnataka High Court has ordered a temporary halt to the investigation against BJP leader Ravi Patil and two associates accused of attempting to remove 198 Muslim voters from the electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Belagavi.

Justice Venkatesh Naik T issued the interim direction on Tuesday, noting that a coordinate Bench had granted similar protection to accused persons in comparable cases on October 9. Considering the similarity between the cases, the court said it was appropriate to follow the earlier decision in the interest of judicial discipline.

"The coordinate Bench had stayed the investigation in similar matters on 09.10.2026. The perusal of the aforesaid order and the...