Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah booked by Lokayukta police in MUDA land scam case

The case was filed aft the Karnataka High Court, connected September 24, upheld the support granted by Karnataka Governor Thawarchand Gehlot nether Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, allowing cases to beryllium filed against the Karnataka CM based connected complaints by 3 backstage individuals.

Following the precocious tribunal ruling, a peculiar tribunal for elected representatives, which had earlier delayed its verdict connected the complaints, referred the substance to the Lokayukta constabulary for probe connected September 25.

The backstage complainants — Snehamayi Krishna, T J Abraham, and Pradeep Kumar — had already secured the Governor’s support nether Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act. With the High Court’s endorsement of the Governor’s decision, a Lokayukta constabulary probe is present acceptable successful motion.

The FIR is registered nether sections related to conspiracy, cheating, and forgery nether the IPC, arsenic good arsenic nether the Prevention of Corruption Act, the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, and the Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition Act. The play of the alleged offenses spans from 1968 to 2023.

The Karnataka CM and his household are accused of benefiting from a Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) onshore speech scheme, wherever 3.16 acres of onshore extracurricular Mysuru — talented to Siddaramaiah’s woman by her member successful 2010 — was exchanged for 14 lodging sites successful a premier locality successful Mysuru nether a 50:50 speech strategy created during the BJP’s regime. Activists allege that this amerciable onshore speech resulted successful a Rs 56 crore nonaccomplishment to the state.

The backstage complainants had initially sought a probe by the “CBI/any autarkic investigating bureau which does not travel nether the State Government/Lokayukta Police Wing” and the peculiar tribunal referred the lawsuit to the Lokayukta constabulary instead.

The peculiar tribunal ordered, “Refer the ailment nether 156(3) of CrPC work with Section 175(3) of BNSS to the Police Wing of Lokayukta for investigation, and taxable a report. Take cognizance and punish them successful accordance with the instrumentality successful the involvement of justice.”

Complainant Snehamayi Krishna has insisted that helium volition question a CBI probe successful the case. However, the Karnataka authorities connected Thursday decided to retreat unfastened consent for the CBI to analyse cases successful the state.

After the HC’s September 24 verdict, Krishna said, “The judiciary has provided justice. I volition archetypal record the FIR and past attack the High Court, seeking to transportation the lawsuit to the CBI for an impartial investigation.”

The High Court, portion rejecting Siddaramaiah’s petition, stated, “It is hard to judge that CM Siddaramaiah was not ‘behind the curtain’ during the full transaction of MUDA land, successful which his household allegedly benefited by astir Rs 56 crore.”

In airy of the High Court and peculiar tribunal decisions, the absorption BJP has intensified protests, demanding Siddaramaiah’s resignation arsenic Chief Minister. However, Siddaramaiah has remained defiant, with the Congress enactment backing him, calling the cases politically motivated.

“Our judicial conflict against this revenge authorities by the BJP and JD(S) volition continue. I person religion successful the courts. All MLAs, leaders, and workers of our party, arsenic good arsenic the Congress High Command, person stood by my broadside and encouraged maine to proceed warring for justice,” Siddaramaiah said aft the HC ruling.

He added, “The MUDA lawsuit is conscionable a farce. The main nonsubjective of the BJP and JD(S) is to halt our government’s schemes that payment the mediocre and oppressed.”

On Friday, Congress nationalist president Mallikarjun Kharge besides defended Siddaramaiah, claiming that the MUDA lawsuit was being utilized to people the Congress party.

“Don’t people an idiosyncratic to harm his image. The existent extremity is to harm the Congress party. The BJP and JD(S) are not conscionable aft 1 man—they purpose to harm the party. Whether Siddaramaiah is present contiguous oregon not, the Congress enactment volition endure,” Kharge told the media.

“Let the instrumentality instrumentality its ain course. When the clip comes, we volition code the situation. Right now, nary chargesheet has been filed, nor has anyone been convicted. Yet, each day, the quality is filled with this MUDA case. Meanwhile, Rs 16 lakh crore successful indebtedness owed by industrialists has been written off, but that doesn’t look to beryllium an issue,” the AICC president remarked.