[13] In the 1994 flag hoisting at Idgah Maidan case, pertaining to an open public ground located in the heart of Hubli, whose ownership was claimed[14] by Anjuman-e-Islam, a minority educational institution,[15] the Judicial Magistrate First Class of the 2nd Court, Hubli had from 2002 to 2004 issued 18 non-bailable arrest warrants against Uma Bharti then the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, which Bharti had evaded.
[16] [17] Then Bharti, seeking to quash charges against her, approached the court of D'Cunha, then the District Judge of Hubli.
[17] D'Cunha also rejected as defective a petition filed by Government of Karnataka that sought to reopen the case.
He directed the government to cite 'proper grounds' for reopening the case and approach the Judicial Magistrate First Class 2nd Court.
[17] Following this, Bharti resigned her position as Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh and on 25 August 2004, surrendered to the court at Hubli, and was remanded into custody for 14 days.
[18] The subsequent application to withdraw the case against Bharti and 21 other defendants was accepted on 6 September 2004 by Mohammed Ismail, Judicial Magistrate First Class 2nd Court.
[19] In 2010, the Supreme Court ruled that the Idgah Maidan was the exclusive property of the Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC).