Bangalore, Oct. 26: B.S. Yeddyurappa was today acquitted of all charges in a 2011 scandal in which he was accused of receiving Rs 40 crore in kickbacks from a mining conglomerate to facilitate illegal iron-ore mining in Bellary in Karnataka.

A CBI special court dismissed the corruption allegations, which had cost Yeddyurappa the chief minister's chair, on grounds of lack of evidence. It also acquitted two sons and a son-in-law of Yeddyurappa, now the Karnataka BJP chief, as well as nine others.

"Satyameva Jayate," tweeted the 73-year-old BJP leader, within minutes of the verdict. "Justice is done. I stand vindicated. Thanks to all well wishers, friends & supporters who stood with me in my tough times."

Reading out the operative part of the judgment, R.B. Dharmagoudar, the principal special judge for CBI cases and 21st additional city civil and sessions judge, cited lack of evidence against the accused.

"The prosecution has been unsuccessful in establishing the guilt of the accused, not only in the offences made under the provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act, but also under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code, and hence this court acquits all the accused in the case."

According to the CBI chargesheet, Bellary-based JSW Steel and its sister concern, South West Mining Company, had allegedly paid Yeddyurappa's immediate family members Rs 20 crore for an acre of land in Rachenahalli on Bangalore's outskirts when the guidance value (value set by the government) was Rs1.4 crore per acre.

The same companies had allegedly also donated Rs 20 crore to the Prerana Education Society run by Yeddyurappa's family.

Yeddyurappa was alleged to have misused his position as chief minister to de-notify government land (to convert government land so it can be sold to a private party) that was then bought by his family for Rs 40 lakh. They later sold it at the inflated rate to JSW Steel and its sister concern.

Yeddyurappa's sons B.Y. Raghavendra and B.Y. Vijayendra, son-in-law Sohan Kumar and former BJP minister Krishniah Setty were among the 13 acquitted today. All had faced charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the IPC for cheating and criminal conspiracy.

With today's acquittal, Yeddyurappa has emerged victorious in most of the nearly twenty cases he has faced in various courts. Three cases related to illegal land deals are, however, pending in his hometown, Shimoga.

"Politically, this is a very important verdict for me. This has come as a great strength to me to bring the party back to power," Yeddyurappa told reporters outside the courtroom.

The CBI had taken over the case in 2012 on orders from the Supreme Court. Trouble had begun a year earlier, when a Karnataka lokayukta report claimed Yeddyurappa and his family had benefited to the tune Rs 40 crore from the land deal and the donation to their education trust.

The report also alleged that the deals were struck in exchange for favours to the mining group and recommended a probe. In the immediate fallout, Yeddyurappa was arrested and remanded in judicial custody for over three weeks.

In March 2012, Yeddyurappa questioned the lokayukta's report in Karnataka High Court on the grounds that the ombudsman had not served him a notice before recommending a probe.

A well-known anti-corruption activist, S.R. Hiremath, later took the matter to the Supreme Court, which ordered the CBI to conduct a probe.

"I don't know how in the world he was acquitted," Hiremath told The Telegraph, expressing disappointment at the verdict.

Karnataka chief minister P.C. Siddaramaiah said some cases ended in this manner for want of evidence. "No court will say the allegations are baseless," he said.

"When a murder happens, it is real. But the accused could be acquitted for want of evidence," Siddaramaiah added, possibly suggesting that Yeddyurappa was let off for lack of evidence and not because he was innocent.

State home minister G. Parameshwar said he would give a proper reaction only after reading the full text of the verdict. "We will take it politically to the people who know fully well how corrupt the BJP government was," he said.

The BJP stood by its state president, saying it was a politically motivated case against Yeddyurappa.

Union minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda said Yeddyurappa would be the BJP chief minister candidate in the state elections due in 2018.

"Practically it was a politically motivated case and they wanted to defame our senior leader. But somehow we knew he would get justice," said Gowda.