MUDA Scam: Major Setback To Karnataka Chief Minister As High Court Dismisses Plea

Karnataka High Court on Tuesday dismissed the petition filed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah challenging the Governor’s sanction for his prosecution in the alleged MUDA scam.

In the MUDA site allotment case, it was alleged that compensatory sites were improperly allotted to Siddaramiah’s wife, BM Parvathi, in a high-value area of Mysuru.

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Senior Supreme Court advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, represented Siddaramaiah, while Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued on behalf of Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot.

“The facts narrated in the petition would undoubtedly require investigation, in the teeth of the fact that the beneficiary of all these acts is not anybody outside but the family of the petitioner. The petition stands dismissed…interim order of any kind subsisting today shall stand dissolved,” Justice Nagaprasanna ruled.

The controversy centers on allegations that the Mysuru Development Authority (MUDA) illegally allocated 14 prime sites to Siddaramaiah’s wife in Mysuru city.

In response to the alleged scam, the governor had requested a detailed report and accompanying documents from the state’s Chief Secretary, Shalini Rajneesh.

Meanwhile, the Congress party had accused the Governor of acting discriminatorily, noting that several other cases await his decision without action.

In an interim order that was issued on August 19, the High Court temporarily relieved Siddaramaiah by instructing the special court in Bengaluru to halt proceedings and refrain from any actions based on the Governor’s sanction.

Several state ministers and other Congress workers had expressed their objection to Gehlot’s decision and participated in a ‘Raj Bhavan Chalo’ protest.

The alleged scam involves the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA), where less valuable in a remote area had reportedly been swapped with prime land.

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The case was related to the allocation of an alternative site to CM Siddaramaiah’s wife, Parvathi, in upscale Mysuru city. It was claimed that three acres and 16 gunthas of remote land were illegally acquired.

This irregularity was first reported by complainant Snehamayi Krishna. She had alleged that the MUDA had created fake documents to secure plots worth crores of rupees. The opposition parties have seized upon the allegations, claiming the land, worth Rs 3,000 crores that originally belonged to the Dalit community.