The court also canceled the summons sent to State Minister Byrathi Suresh, who was not named as an accused but was called for questioning by the ED.
Karnataka: The Karnataka High Court on Friday, 7th March, quashed the summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife, BM Parvathi, in connection with the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land scam case.
The court also canceled the summons sent to State Minister Byrathi Suresh, who was not named as an accused but was called for questioning by the ED.
A single-judge bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna delivered the verdict, stating that the summons issued to Parvathi and Suresh had no legal standing. Earlier, on January 27, the court had put a temporary hold on the summons.
Parvathi and Suresh had approached the Karnataka High Court, challenging the ED’s decision to summon them. Their lawyers argued that the ED was conducting a parallel investigation into the alleged MUDA land allotment scam, even though the case was already under probe by the Lokayukta police and a Special Investigation Team (SIT).
Senior Counsel Sandesh Chouta, representing Parvathi, told the court that the ED was trying to start a separate investigation when the case was already being looked into by the state authorities.
Additional Solicitor General of India, Arvind Kamath, appearing for the ED, countered by stating that Parvathi was the “second accused in the predicate offence” related to illegal land allotment. He further argued that she had received “proceeds of crime” and was therefore required for questioning.
Senior Counsel CV Nagesh, appearing for Minister Byrathi Suresh, argued that since his client was not an accused in the case, the summons issued to him should be dismissed.
However, ASG Kamath referred to Section 50(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which “gives the central agency powers to summon even non-accused for acquiring documents and records etc.”
What Is the MUDA Scam Case?
The case revolves around allegations of corruption in land allotments by MUDA, involving BM Parvathi. According to the complaint, Parvathi received a plot of land as a “gift” from her brother, Swamy. The land was originally acquired by the government, later de-notified, and bought by Swamy. However, MUDA developed the land even though it was in private ownership.
Swamy has claimed that he purchased the land in 2004 and later gifted it to his sister. But since MUDA had developed the land, Parvathi sought compensation. She allegedly received an inflated compensation, which included “14 developed alternate plots of land that were much higher in value than the original three acres, under a 50:50 scheme.“
The Mysore Lokayukta Police has already investigated the case and given a “clean chit to CM Siddaramaiah, Parvathi, and brother-in-law BM Mallikarjuna.”
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