The High Court was hearing a plea filed by RTI activist Snehamayi Krishna seeking that the MUDA case be transferred to the CBI.
Published Nov 05, 2024 | 1:08 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 05, 2024 | 1:08 PM
Karnataka High Court to hear petition over use of non-existing judgments in trial court order (Wikmedia)
The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday, 5 November issued notices to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his family members, the Union and state governments and Lokayukta over the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam.
It was hearing petitions filed by RTI activist Snehamayi Krishna, who sought that the MUDA case involving the chief minister be transferred to the CBI, reported LiveLaw. The notice has also been issued to the chief minister’s wife Parvathi, and her brother Mallikarjuna Swamy.
Additionally, the high court adjourned the hearing on the RTI activist’s plea to 26 November and ordered the Lokayukta to place on record details of the probe conducted so far.
This comes a day after the Lokayukta police’s summons to the chief minister, asking him to be personally present for an inquiry into the MUDA site allotment case on 6 November.
MUDA had acquired 3.16 acres of land, gifted to Parvathi by her brother in 2010, to develop a layout. In place of the land, the Authority in 2022 allocated 14 premium sites to her in Vijayanagar locality as compensation, under a 50:50 formula.
As this became public, it created a massive controversy with the BJP taking it up in a big way both in the street and in the legislature session.
The Opposition also launched a “padayatra” campaign from Bengaluru to Mysuru, dubbed “Mysuru Chalo,” demanding the chief minister’s resignation.
Siddaramaiah challenged this saying he had no role in it since the site allocation was made when the BJP was in power in the state. Thus began the slugfest.
The controversy gained further momentum when Karnataka Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot intervened, based on a petition related to the case, and allowed the prosecution of the chief minister.
Subsequently, reports surfaced indicating that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) against Siddaramaiah and several family members based on Snehamayi’s complaint.
In a move that is being viewed as a response to the growing scrutiny, Parvathi voluntarily returned the 14 allocated sites to MUDA on 1 October. Following her letter, MUDA officials conducted the necessary procedures and reclaimed the sites on 3 October.
In a bid to mitigate the fallout from the controversy, Congress leader K Marigowda also resigned from his position as the chairperson of MUDA on 16 October.
(Edited by Neena.)
