MUDA scam: Karnataka HC rejects CM Siddaramaiah’s plea against Guv’s sanction for corruption probe

Karnataka High Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah challenging the grant of sanction under the Prevention of Corruption Act by the Governor to initiate an investigation against him in the MUDA land allotment case, PTI reported.

In his judgment the single judge bench of Justice Nagaprasanna said that the order of sanction for prosecution does not suffer from non-application of mind by the Governor, ANI reported.

In his petition Siddaramaiah questioned the legality of the sanction granted by the Governor permitting investigation against him under Section 17 A of the Prevention of Corruption Act and prosecution under Section 218 of Bharatiya Nagarik Surakha Sanhita, 2023.

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

The MUDA had assigned these plots under a controversial 50:50 ratio scheme, which allowed land losers to receive half of the developed land in exchange for undeveloped land acquired for residential layouts.

Some opposition leaders and activists have claimed that Parvathi had received preferential treatment in this arrangement.