Bengaluru: A division bench of the Karnataka High Court will hear on November 23 an appeal filed by Karanataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah seeking to quash the sanction granted by the Governor for his prosecution in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) case.
Siddaramaiah has moved the High Court against an order of the single bench dismissing his plea challenging Karnataka Governor’s sanction to prosecute him in in the alleged MUDA scam case.
Siddaramaiah’s appeal against the single bench order was mentioned before a division bench
Siddaramaiah’s appeal against the single bench order was mentioned before a division bench comprising Chief Justice NV Anjaria and Justice KV Aravind on Thursday by senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi and the bench said that it would hear the matter on November 23.
What did the single bench say while upholding Governor’s sanction
A single bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna had on September 24 upheld Governor’s sanction to prosecute the Karnataka Chief Minister in the MUDA scam, saying that while he Governor has to act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers as obtained under Article 163 of the Constitution of India in the normal circumstance but can take independent decisions in exceptional circumstances and this case is one such exception.
The single bench had further said that how and why the rule was bent in favour of the family of the Chief Minister is what is required to be investigated into and “If this does not require investigation, I fail to understand what other case can merit investigation, as the beneficiary is the family of the petitioner (Siddaramaiah) and the benefit is by leaps and bounds, it is in fact a windfall.”
Following the dismissal of Siddaramaiah’s plea by the single bench, the Karnataka Lokayukta filed a First Information Report (FIR) against Siddaramaiah and others on charges of corruption, cheating, and forgery.
Karnataka Governor accorded sanction for prosecution of Siddaramaiah on August 16
Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on August 16 accorded sanction for the prosecution of Siddaramaiah under section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act, 1988 and section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 for the commission of the alleged offences on the petitions of activists Pradeep Kumar SP, TJ Abraham and Snehamayi Krishna.
The MUDA scam pertains to alleged irregularities in the allotment of alternative sites by the MUDA and there are allegations that Siddaramaiah’s wife was also a beneficiary.
