Bengaluru:
Karnataka Lokayukta on Monday submitted the investigation report in connection with the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam to the High Court Dharwad bench. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is the accused number one, and his wife B.M. Parvathi is the second accused in the case.
The Mysuru Lokayukta Superintendent of Police, T.J. Udesh submitted the report in a sealed cover to the court. The court had earlier directed the Lokayukta to submit the report without fail in this regard.
The bench took up the hearing of the petition submitted by activist Snehamayi Krishna, seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the MUDA scam.
Advocate General Shashi Kiran Shetty made a submission before the bench to grant time for placing arguments against the petition and further prayed that this matter could be taken up later when the court resumes functioning in Bengaluru after vacation.
However, the bench refusing to yield, directed the AG to place the arguments without any delay. The AG requested that counsel Kapil Sibal would appear before the court and sought time. The bench, however, stated that the arguments could be placed through video conferencing. The AG then submitted that there was a technical issue with the video conferencing, following which the bench directed to fix the issue and place the arguments in the day only.
Senior Counsel Dushyanth Dave appearing for the fourth accused, land owner J. Devaraju in the MUDA case, submitted that his client is not facing criminal charges and, in this background, there is no necessity for the CBI probe. He further submitted that the petition had been filed to embarrass Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
“The petitioner earlier sought the Lokayukta investigation before the court and when the Lokayukta investigation was progressing, he submitted a petition seeking the CBI probe. The court should not waste a single moment over the petition,” he argued. he added that while filing the complaint, the petitioner concealed many facts related to the case. “The petitioner has concealed the order of mutation and revenue department documents which prove that Devaraju was the owner of the property,” Dave said.
Earlier, counsel Manindar Singh appeared for petitioner Snehamayi Krishna and concluded his submission over the matter. He submitted to the court how until the writ petition was filed before the court, the FIR was not registered in the case.
Commenting on the development, Snehamayi Krishna stated, “I have full confidence that the case would be handed over to the CBI. The Lokayukta is not conducting the investigation appropriately. We have submitted the evidence and documents to prove that Lokayukta sleuths are colluded with the accused persons in the case.”
“In this backdrop and taking the rampant corruption into consideration, based on the evidence and documents submitted in this regard, we are hoping that today the court will hand over the case to the CBI,” he stated.
When asked about rumours claiming that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his wife Parvathi may get a clean chit in the Lokayukta investigation, Snehamayi Krishna stated, “I don’t have official information on this. I got to know through the media. It is impossible to give a clean chit to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. We have provided enough documents to prove charges against him.”
“The news is that officers are being fixed in the MUDA scam. I want to question, how is that the officers, who do not make any mistakes in other cases, commit mistakes in matters connected to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. It shows that they are influenced,” he stated.
“I have not filed a complaint on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his family alone. I have taken that as an example and filed a complaint on the illegal allotment of thousands of sites by the MUDA to influential people. Many politicians, powerful and officers are involved in the scam. I have requested for comprehensive probe,” Krishna stated.
“Against this backdrop, I am vouching for the CBI probe. I would not have insisted on the CBI probe, if it would have been just the case of allotment of 14 sites to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah sites illegally,” he said.
When asked whether Chief Minister Siddaramaiah would resign if the matter is handed over to the CBI, he stated, “I hope that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah resigns from his post once the matter is handed over to the CBI. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is suffering setbacks legally and we are emerging victorious. If the court hands over the case to the CBI, it would be a serious setback for him. Considering the actions that follow, he might tender resignation or the party high command might ask him to step down,” he stated.
It is alleged that Siddaramaiah used his political influence to get compensation for 14 sites in the name of his wife B.M. Parvathi in lieu of three acres and 16 guntas of land acquired by the MUDA.
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a notice to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife B.M. Parvathi, the second accused in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam. The Enforcement Directorate has also issued a notice to the Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh, the close confidante of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, sources confirmed on Monday.
Sources reveal that the Enforcement Directorate had issued notice to Chief Minister’s wife on January 23 and directed his wife Parvathi to appear before the Enforcement Directorate officials on January 27 (Monday). Minister Suresh has also been asked to appear before the Enforcement Directorate sleuths.
Following this, Chief Minister’s wife Parvathi and Minister Suresh have approached the Karnataka High Court questioning the summons issued to them by the Enforcement Directorate.
