The dismissal followed the court's decision to uphold an earlier acquittal of 1996, in the same case. The acquittal then was granted under Exception 9 of Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The case was filed after Bangarappa made an allegation at a press conference, that rice was being `smuggled' to Goa in which the then chief minister Hegde's relatives, particularly Ganesh Hegde, were involved.

It was then tried in the High Court, Supreme Court and then again in the Magistrate Court, where Bangarappa was acquitted on grounds that he had made the allegations based on written complaints by people from Ramakrishna Hegde's hometown Sirsi. ``His press conference was in good faith and for public good,'' the court had then upheld.