Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday moved to the High Court against Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot’s sanction to investigate him in the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam. The petition accused that the Governor’s move is politically motivated and is an effort to destabilise the duly elected government.
Further, sanction order is issued in violation of Article 163 of the Indian Constitution as the Governor acted without aid and advise by Council of Ministers and the CM, said the petition filed by him as per a Live law report.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal is representing the CM and while Abhishek Manu Singhvi is appearing on behalf of All India Congress Committee (AICC).
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On Saturday following the Governor’s big move, the Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka DK Shivakumar expressed his discontentment with the former’s decision. He said, “The entire Cabinet, party MLAs and party leadership are behind Siddaramaiah. The CM will not bow down to pressure.”
The Governer’s move came after the state government had set up two committees to investigate the multi-crore MUDA scam. One under an IAS officer Venkatachalapathy and another one is headed by former Karnataka HC judge P N Desai. He said that it goes against the legal principle that the probing committees are set up by the person against whom the allegations are made.
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“I hereby accord sanction against Chief Minister Sri Siddaramaiah under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, for the commission of the alleged offences as mentioned in the petitions,” said Gehlot in a statement released on August 16.
Additionally, the Karnataka Governor gave a nod to three private complainants, T J Abraham, Snehamayi Krishna and Pradeep Kumar to file cases against Siddaramaiah, as per a report in the Indian Express.
The scam revolves around irregularities pertaining to land allocations by the MUDA. Fourteen premium sites were reportedly allocated to Siddaramaiah’s wife as compensation for acquired land by the authority. Reportedly, the deal resulted in a Rs 45 crore loss to the state treasury.
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