MUDA Scam: Siddaramaiah to be Prosecuted as Karnataka High Court Upholds Governor's Decision

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had moved the High Court against the approval for investigation against him, given by the Governor, Thawar Chand Gehlot. The Karnataka High Court has announced its verdict in the case and in a major setback, Siddaramaiah's plea has been rejected by the court and the order of the Governor, to probe the Karnataka CM has been upheld.

Karnataka High Court Dismisses Siddaramaiah's Plea

Karnataka High Court has dismissed CM Siddaramaiah's plea, upholding the governor's order for prosecution. The verdict is pronounced by a single judge bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna to pronounce the order. Siddaramaiah's counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi, SG Tushar Mehta who is for the Governor's office, appeared through VC.

The Chief Minister had challenged the approval given by the Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot for an investigation against him in the alleged irregularities in the allotment of 14 sites to his wife by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) in a prime locality. After completing the hearings on the petition in six sittings from August 19, the single judge bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna on September 12 reserved its verdict. It had also extended its August 19 interim order directing the special court for people's representatives that was slated to hear complaints against him in the case, to defer its proceedings till the disposal of the petition.

Here's What Karnataka High Court Said

Justice Nagaprasanna: The complainants were justified in pursuing the complaint and seeking approval at the hands of the Governor. The approval under 17A is mandatory in the fact situation. It nowhere requires a police officer to seek approval in a private complainant under 200 or 223 of BNSS. It is the duty of the complainants to seek such approval. Order does not suffer from non-application of mind by governor; the facts narrated in the petition need investigation. The petition stands dismissed.

Sr Adv Abhishek Manu Singhvi: Can the lordships consider staying the order for two weeks. To this, Karnataka HC said, “I cannot stay my own order. The order will be made available by 2.30 pm. Interim order standing today will stand dissolved.”

Will Siddaramaiah Step Down? BJP Demands Resignation

While there is no official word on whether the Karnataka CM will tender his resignation or not, the Bhartiya Janata Party ( BJP ) is demanding the resignation of Siddaramaiah as he will be prosecuted in the MUDA Land Scam Case now.

In a post on ‘X’ (formerly known as Twitter), the BJP Karnataka wing said, “If Siddaramaiah has any respect for the law of this land, for the constitution, for the court, he should not continue his corruption and bow down to the court's decision and resign from the post of CM immediately.”

Bengaluru on High Alert, Protests Expected

A high alert has been across the state, including Bengaluru and officials have been asked to remain on high alert at all places. Senior officers have instructed all the Commissionerates and SPs, DCPs of all districts, as per DGP Alok Mohan and ADGP Law and Order.

MUDA Scam Case: Complete Timeline

The Governor on August 16 accorded sanction under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 for the commission of the alleged offences as mentioned in the petitions submitted to him by complainants Pradeep Kumar S P, T J Abraham and Snehamayi Krishna. On August 19, Siddaramaiah moved the High Court challenging the legality of the Governor's order.

In the petition, the Chief Minister submitted that the sanction order was issued without due application of mind, in violation of statutory mandates, and contrary to constitutional principles, including the advice of the Council of Ministers, which is binding under Article 163 of the Constitution of India. Siddaramaiah sought quashing of the Governor's order contending that his decision is legally unsustainable, procedurally flawed, and motivated by extraneous considerations.

While noted lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Prof. Ravivarma Kumar had appeared for Siddaramaiah, Solicitor-General of India Tushar Mehta represented the office of the Governor.  Advocate General Shashi Kiran Shetty also made his submissions. Senior Advocates Maninder Singh, Prabhuling K Navadgi,  Lakshmi Iyengar, Ranganath Reddy, K G Raghavan, among others made submissions on behalf of the complainants (respondents) who had sought the sanction for investigation against Siddaramaiah.

What Is MUDA Land Scam?

In the MUDA site allotment case, it is alleged that compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah's wife B M Parvathi in an upmarket area in Mysuru, which had higher property value as compared to the location of her land which had been "acquired" by the MUDA. The MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land, where it developed a residential layout.

Under the controversial scheme, MUDA allotted 50 per cent of developed land to the land losers in lieu of undeveloped land acquired from them for forming residential layouts. It is alleged that Parvathi had no legal title over this 3.16 acres of land at survey number 464 of Kasare village, Kasaba hobli of Mysuru taluk.

(Inputs from PTI)