MUDA Scam: Lokayukta police file FIR against Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, others  

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah

A First Information Report (FIR) was filed against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and others in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment scam. The FIR was registered by the Lokayukta police on September 27 following a court order.

The FIR registered by the Lokayukta police in Mysuru named Siddaramaiah as accused number one (A1) in the case, his wife BM Parvathi as A2, brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy as A3, and Devaraju as A4 -- from whom Mallikarjuna Swamy purchased land and gifted it to Parvathi.

On September 25, a Special Court in Bengaluru had ordered a Lokayukta police probe against CM Siddaramaiah in connection with MUDA land scam case.

Special Court Judge Santhosh Gajanan Bhat’s order, which set the stage for the FIR, came one day after the High Court upheld the sanction granted by the Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to launch a probe against Siddaramaiah based on the allegations of illegalities in the allotment of 14 sites to his wife by MUDA.

The Special Court issued the order directing the Lokayukta police to initiate an investigation on the complaint filed by RTI activist Snehamayi Krishna.

“Acting under Section 156(3) of Code of Criminal Procedure, the jurisdictional police i.e., Superintendent of Police, Karnataka Lokayukta, Mysuru is hereby directed to register the case, investigate and to file a report as contemplated under Section 173 of CrPC, within a period of three months from today…” the court had said.

Accordingly, an FIR was registered under sections 120B (Punishment of criminal conspiracy), 166 (Public servant disobeying law, with intent to cause injury to any person), 403 (Dishonest misappropriation of property), 406 ( Punishment for criminal breach of trust), 420 ( Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 426 ( Punishment for mischief), 465 (Punishment for forgery) , 468 (Forgery for purpose of cheating), 340 (Wrongful confinement), 351 (Assault) and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

The court had also listed offences punishable under sections 9 and 13 the Prevention Of Corruption Act, 1988 and under Sec.3, 53 and 54 of the Prohibition Of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988 and 3, 4 of Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition Act, 2011.

(With PTI inputs)