Siddaramaiah’s Appeal Against MUDA Probe: Karnataka High Court Adjourns Hearing to January 25

The Karnataka High Court has postponed the hearing on appeals filed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and former Mysore landowner J Devaraju to January 25. The appeals challenge the court’s order permitting an investigation into alleged irregularities in the allotment of 14 Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) housing sites to the Chief Minister’s wife, B M Parvathi. The siddaramaiah MUDA case has sparked significant public and legal interest.

Key Developments

The Mysuru unit of the Karnataka Lokayukta police had registered a case on September 27 against Siddaramaiah and others, accusing them of corruption, cheating, and forgery. This case was based on a private complaint referred by a special court for elected representatives on September 25. Siddaramaiah and Devaraju have appealed against Justice M Nagaprasanna’s September 24 order, which facilitated this investigation into the MUDA probe.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice N V Anjaria and Justice K V Aravind issued notices to RTI activist Snehamayi Krishna and two others while deciding to adjourn the appeals due to the need for a detailed hearing. However, the Karnataka High Court declined to halt proceedings in a related petition filed by Krishna, which seeks a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the alleged MUDA land scam dating back to 2021.

Arguments Presented

During the hearing, senior counsel Dushyant Dave, representing Devaraju, argued that the single judge’s order of September 24 had unfairly implicated his client, despite Devaraju not being made a party to the original case. Devaraju, who sold his farmland to the CM’s son-in-law nearly 20 years ago, contends that his actions were legal and that he has been unjustly dragged into the siddaramaiah MUDA case.

The appeals also address a November 5 order from Justice Nagaprasanna, which sought a status report from the Lokayukta police on their investigations into the alleged land scam, following a petition by Krishna for a CBI inquiry.

Allegations and ED Involvement

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has alleged significant irregularities in MUDA’s land allotments under a 50:50 land compensation scheme. In a letter to the Lokayukta police, the ED claimed that the purchase of 3.16 acres of land in 2004 by Siddaramaiah’s brother-in-law, Mallikarjun Swamy, from Devaraju was illegal, as the land had already been acquired by MUDA for housing purposes.

The ED’s letter further alleges that 14 alternate housing sites were allotted to the CM’s wife to conceal irregularities related to MUDA’s occupation of her land. These allegations have intensified scrutiny over the siddaramaiah MUDA case.

Political Reactions

Siddaramaiah has dismissed the ED’s letter as politically motivated and prejudicial. Addressing the media, he said, “We have appealed the single-bench judgment, which is coming up for hearing tomorrow. If they (ED) have sent the letter a day before that, what does it mean?”

As the controversy unfolds, the MUDA probe continues to draw attention, with the January 25 hearing at the Karnataka High Court anticipated to shed further light on the allegations and legal arguments surrounding the land allotments.