The FIR, filed in accordance with the order of the Special Court for People’s Representatives, lists Siddaramaiah as Accused 1, his wife Parvathi as Accused 2, and Bamaida Mallikarjunaswamy as Accused 3.
Karnataka: The Lokayukta Police registered an FIR on Friday(27th Sept) against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah concerning the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment case.
The order by Special Court Judge Santhosh Gajanan Bhat came after the Karnataka High Court, just a day earlier, upheld the Governor’s approval for an investigation into Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over the alleged illegal allotment of 14 sites by MUDA to his wife, Parvathi.
The High Court also lifted its interim order from August 19, which had instructed the Special Court for People’s Representatives to delay its decision on the complaints against Siddaramaiah.
The court dismissed Siddaramaiah’s petition, which had challenged the Governor’s August 16 sanction for an investigation under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
The special court, which handles criminal cases involving former and current MPs/MLAs, issued the directive based on a complaint filed by RTI activist Snehamayi Krishna. The investigation was initiated after the Karnataka High Court upheld Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot’s approval to probe Siddaramaiah’s involvement in the case.
On September 24, Justice M Nagaprasanna of the Karnataka High Court ruled that although the Governor typically acts on the advice of the Council of Ministers under Article 163 of the Constitution, exceptional circumstances allow for independent decisions. The court determined that this case constituted such an exception and dismissed Siddaramaiah’s petition.
READ ALSO: [MUDA Scam] Special Court Orders Lokayukta Police Probe Against Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah
Siddaramaiah remained unfazed on Friday, reiterating that he will not step down as Karnataka’s chief minister.
“I have done nothing wrong. This is the first time a political case has been filed against me. This is a political case, please note that,”
quoted the senior Congress leader as saying.
When asked about the BJP’s protests demanding his resignation, Siddaramaiah responded,
“Why should I resign? If someone has committed a wrong, they should resign. When we are saying no wrong was done, where is the question of resignation?”
In the midst of the controversy surrounding the MUDA case, the Karnataka government on Thursday revoked the general consent previously granted to the CBI to conduct investigations in the state, accusing the central agency of being “biased.”
Reacting sharply, the BJP criticized the Congress government, calling it the action of a “professional thief and corrupt party.”
“Thousands of crores have been misappropriated in the MUDA scam. After this, the Congress did what one would expect from any certified ‘chor and lootera’ (thief and robber). To avoid facing the law, they withdrew the general consent given to the CBI to investigate in the state,”
said BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla.
WHAT IS MUDA SCAM
The MUDA scam revolves around allegations made by anti-corruption activists T J Abraham, Snehamayi Krishna, and Pradeep Kumar, who approached the Karnataka Governor in July, seeking permission to file complaints against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
The activists alleged that Siddaramaiah’s wife, Parvathi, was allotted 14 housing sites by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) in exchange for a 3.16-acre plot of land that MUDA had unlawfully acquired in 2021, during the previous BJP-led administration. This transaction reportedly caused a Rs 55.80 crore loss to the state.
On July 26, Karnataka Governor Thawarchand Gehlot issued a show cause notice to Siddaramaiah. Despite the Karnataka Council of Ministers passing a resolution on August 1 requesting the Governor to withdraw the notice, the Governor granted approval on August 16 to initiate proceedings against Siddaramaiah under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
