On Wednesday, the Karnataka High Court issued notices to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his wife BM Parvathy, and others involved in the alleged irregularities regarding land allotments by the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA). This came in response to a petition challenging a previous ruling that denied the transfer of the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
A division bench, consisting of Chief Justice NV Anjaria and KV Aravind, directed that the CM and other accused parties respond by April 28. The appeal was filed by activist Snehamayi Krishna, the original complainant in the case. Krishna had sought the CBI’s involvement, but a single judge, Justice M Nagaprasanna, had earlier rejected the request in February, asserting that there was no evidence of bias in the ongoing investigation by the Karnataka Lokayukta.
Krishna’s legal team argued that they were not challenging the judge’s order directly but seeking a writ of mandamus, which would allow the matter to be referred to the CBI. The court has decided to first review whether the appeal is maintainable before proceeding with the merits of the case.
The case centers around allegations of corruption involving land granted by MUDA to Siddaramaiah’s wife, BM Parvathy. The land, originally gifted by her brother, was illegally developed by MUDA. Parvathy reportedly received inflated compensation, including 14 alternative plots valued higher than the original three acres.
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