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HC rejects plea to hand over Muda case to CBI
Karnataka high court declines to transfer Muda site allotment case to CBI, keeping investigation with Lokayukta. BJP claims charges against Siddaramaiah persist.
The Karnataka high court on Friday declined to transfer the investigation into alleged irregularities in the Mysuru urban development authority (Muda) site allotment case, involving chief minister Siddaramaiah and his wife BM Parvathi, to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The court ruled that the case will remain under the purview of the Lokayukta police.
While the ruling Congress hailed the verdict, the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said the high court has not declared Siddaramaiah as innocent, and that the allegations against him in the case still holds good.
“The material on record nowhere indicates that the investigation conducted by the Lokayukta is partisan, lopsided, or shoddy for this court to refer the matter to the CBI for further investigation or reinvestigation,” Justice M Nagaprasanna ruled, dismissing the petition filed by Mysuru-based activist Snehamayi Krishna.
In his plea, Krishna had contended that an impartial probe is not possible since Siddaramaiah, being the chief minister, wields immense power and influence over the state departments, especially the state investigating agencies such as the Karnataka Lokayukta police.
Justice Nagaprasanna outlined three key questions considered in arriving at the verdict: whether the office of the Lokayukta lacks independence; under what circumstances constitutional courts have referred investigations to CBI; and whether the available material justified transferring the probe to the federal agency.
“The office of the Lokayukta does not suffer from questionable independence. Its insulation from external influences has already been recognised by the Supreme Court and a division bench of this court,” the judge remarked.
The case pertains to alleged allotment of 14 sites to Siddaramaiah’s wife in an upmarket area in Mysuru as compensation for 3.16 acres of Parvathi’s land “acquired” by Muda. It is alleged that Parvathi had no legal title over the said 3.16 acres at Kasare village and that the plot was a gift to her from her brother Mallikarjuna Swamy, who claimed to have bought it from one Devaraju.
Though Siddaramaiah was yet to react, his legal adviser and Congress legislator A S Ponnanna said the chief minister expressed “happiness” over the verdict.
“I have brought the verdict and its content to the notice of the chief minister, he expressed happiness. He said, let’s bow down to the legal process. When earlier the order came against us, we said we will abide by the court’s decision, today when the verdict has come in our favour too, we say the same thing,” senior advocate Ponnanna told reporters.
Reacting to the development, Karnataka BJP chief BY Vijayendra said the case was far from over.
“The high court has not given a clean chit to Siddaramaiah. It has only ruled that CBI will not investigate the case. This does not mean that the charges against him are baseless,” Vijayendra told reporters. “Both Lokayukta and ED probe is on. Let’s wait and see what happens.”
Petitioner Krishna vowed to continue his legal battle and move the Supreme Court. “This is not the final judgment. We will analyse the high court’s reasoning, consult our legal team, and challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court,” Krishna told reporters.
