Bengaluru:
In a big relief to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the Karnataka High Court has refused to transfer the probe into the land scam case linked to the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Justice M Nagaprasanna today rejected a petition by activist Snehmayi Krishna who had sought the court to transfer the probe from the Lokayukta police.
The corruption allegation against Siddaramaiah concerns a land parcel that his wife BM Parvathi was awarded by the MUDA in compensation for another piece of land that she owned.
Mr Krishna’s lawyer argued that the Lokayukta may not conduct a fair probe into the case since it was a state authority and the accused is the Chief Minister of the state.
Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and AM Singhvi, appearing for the state and Siddaramaiah respectively, opposed Mr Krishna’s petition and said a probe could be transferred to another agency only if either of the parties believed it was mala fide. However, the Lokayukta has submitted its report in a sealed cover and no one knew its content, argued Mr Sibal.
The allegations have snowballed into a massive controversy with the BJP demanding Siddaramaiah to step down from his post. The Congress leader has denied the charges and said that the MUDA case is politically motivated.
The case came to the fore after activists alleged that the grant of compensatory land caused a loss worth crores to the state. They also accused top MUDA officials of being involved in the alleged scam.
According to the complaint, Ms Parvathi was gifted a three-acre land by her brother, and despite being privately owned, MUDA went ahead and developed it. She then claimed compensation and was awarded 14 plots worth much more than the three-acre land.
Last July, the Karnataka Governor sanctioned a corruption case against Siddaramaiahn after three activists – Snehamayi Krishna, TJ Abraham, and Pradeep Kumar – lodged a complaint with him.
Siddaramaiah went to the Karnataka High Court against this decision and argued that though he was the chief minister at that time, he had no role in MUDA awarding the compensatory land to his wife.
However, the court rejected his petition and ordered the Lokayukta to file a case of corruption, cheating, and forgery against Siddaramaiah and the other accused.
Activist Krishna then requested the court to transfer the case to the CBI.
