The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday allowed the Lokayukta to continue its investigation into the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allocation irregularities involving Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
It also sought a report from Lokayukta by January 27. It asked the Lokayukta to submit all documents it has collected so far by tomorrow, News18 reported.
The HC posted the matter for next hearing on January 27 on a plea seeking to transfer the MUDA case investigation related to Siddaramaiah to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The court also directed that the probe be overseen by the Inspector General of Police, Lokayukta, PTI reported.
The petitioner Snehamayi Krishna, an activist, questioned the impartiality of the Lokayukta investigation, given the involvement of high-ranking officials and politicians.
"Lokayukta must place on record all details of the investigation to date. The inquiry will be monitored by the IG of Police, Lokayukta. Any reports should be submitted a day before the next hearing," the court stated, listing the next session for January 27.
This comes after the high court in December last year deferred the filing of the Lokayukta’s report against Siddaramaiah and his family, including his wife and brother-in-law in the MUDA scam case.
What is the MUDA scam?
The case relates to alleged violations by MUDA in which several people received more alternative sites than they were entitled to in lieu of their land that was used for the development of major and important areas of Mysuru.
The process took place under a 50:50 scheme, which was introduced in November 2020. It was scrapped by Siddaramaiah in 2023. As per the scheme, land losers were entitled to 50% of the developed sites, while the other half was retained by MUDA.
Some activists alleged that Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi was allocated 14 premium sites in Vijayanagar in 2022 in violation of norms.
At the heart of the allegation was a 3.16-acre parcel of land in Mysuru's Kesaru village that was allegedly transferred to Siddaramaiah's brother-in-law Mallikarjun Swamy in 2005.
Siddaramaiah's wife received the land as a gift in 2010. However, the land was acquired by MUDA to develop a layout and the Chief Minister's wife was allocated alternative sites.
The activists and the BJP have claimed that Siddaramaiah's wife received alternative plots in localities that had a higher circle rate, thereby jacking up the value of the asset than the actual land in Kesaru.
Siddaramaiah's wife returned the plots to MUDA as the investigation into the case began.
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