Siddaramaiah faces fresh trouble in Muda case, Karnataka HC issues notice to CM, his wife on plea seeking CBI probe

Karnataka High Court on Wednesday issued notices to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his wife after a plea seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the MUDA land allotment case.

The chief minister is facing allegations of involvement in the illegal allotment of 14 sites to his wife, Parvathi BM, by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA).

The plea, filed by RTI activist Snehamayi Krishna, has challenged a February 7 order by a single-judge bench that rejected his request to transfer the Lokayukta police probe into the alleged scam to the CBI.

Thedivision bench oftheKarnatakaHigh Court said:“Notice to respondents returnable on April 28. Since it was stated that appeals connected to the subject matter controversy are slated to be listed on that day.”

The HC raised a procedural question regarding whether an appeal against a single judge's ruling was maintainable under Article 226 of the Constitution.

“What are the yardsticks to judge whether the appeal is maintainable?” the bench asked.

In response, senior advocate KG Raghavan, representing the petitioner, clarified that the appeal did not contest a judicial order per se but sought a writ of mandamus. “I am asking for a mandamus, not challenging an order of a court,” he told the bench.

Single-judge bench order

Earlier this year, the single-judge bench dismissed a petition, saying that Lokayukta's investigation did not demonstrate bias or deficiency.

"The Lokayukta/office of the Lokayukta does not suffer from questionable independence," the court had said.

It also said that the evidence submitted did not justify referring the case to the CBI for further investigation.

TheHigh Courtwill next hear the matter on April 28, alongside other appeals linked to the MUDA case.

About MUDA case

Siddaramaiah, his wife, brother-in-law BM Mallikarjun Swamy, Devaraju -- from whom Swamy had purchased land and gifted it to Parvathi -- and others have been named in the FIR registered by the Lokayukta police establishment in Mysuru on September 27, 2024, following the order of the Special Court that exclusively deals with criminal cases related to former and elected MPs/MLAs.

The Lokayukta police have filed a closure 'B' report stating that there are no materials to justify the allegations against the chief minister, his wife, Mallikarjuna Swamy and Devaraju in connection with the case.