Notice to CM, others on plea seeking transfer of MUDA case to CBI

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday issued notice to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and others on a writ petition filed by RTI activist Snehamayi Krishna seeking a direction to transfer the MUDA site allotment case to CBI. Justice M Nagaprasanna, who also issued notice to Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvathi B M, brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy, Union of India, the State government, CBI and Lokayukta, directed the Lokayukta to place on record investigation conducted in the case so far.

The court posted the next hearing to November 26. Meanwhile, the Lokayukta police have summoned Siddaramaiah, who has been named as accused number one in the case, for questioning on November 6. They had on October 25 questioned his wife, who is the accused number two.

The CM is facing allegations of illegalities in the allotment of 14 sites to his wife by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA).

Siddaramaiah, his wife, Swamy and Devaraju -- from whom Swamy had purchased a land and gifted it to Parvathi -- and others have been named in the FIR registered by the Mysuru-located Lokayukta police establishment on September 27. Swamy and Devaraju have already deposed before the Lokayukta police.

Appearing for Krishna, senior Advocate K G Raghavan claimed that investigation being conducted by the Lokayukta police, “in a matter of this kind’, does not inspire confidence in the public.

The Chief Minister on October 24 filed an appeal before the division bench of the High Court, challenging the decision of a single judge bench in connection with the MUDA site allotment case that had come as a setback to him.

The bench of Justice Nagaprasanna had on September 24 dismissed the CM’s petition challenging Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot’s approval for a probe against him in the case, observing that the gubernatorial order nowhere “suffers from want of application of mind”.

Siddaramaiah had challenged the legality of Gehlot’s sanction for the investigation against him in the alleged irregularities in the allotment of 14 sites by MUDA in a prime locality.

Following the High Court order, a Special Court here on the very next day had ordered a Lokayukta police probe against Siddaramaiah, and directed to file the investigation report by December 24.

The Special Court exclusively to deal with criminal cases related to former and elected MPs/MLAs had issued the order directing the Lokayukta police in Mysuru to initiate an investigation on the complaint filed by Snehamayi Krishna. Parvathi, meanwhile, had written to MUDA to cancel 14 sites allotted to her and the MUDA had accepted it.

On September 30, the ED filed an enforcement case information report (ECIR) to book the CM and others taking cognisance of the Lokayukta FIR.

In the MUDA site allotment case, it is alleged that 14 compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah’s wife in an upmarket area in Mysuru (Vijayanagar Layout 3rd and 4th stages), which had higher property value as compared to the location of her land which had been “acquired” by MUDA.

The MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land, where it developed a residential layout. Under the controversial scheme, MUDA allotted 50 per cent of developed land to the land losers in lieu of undeveloped land acquired from them for forming residential layouts.It is alleged Parvathi had no legal title over this 3.16 acres of land at survey number 464 of Kasare village on the outskirts of Mysuru.