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Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah.
Credit: DH Photo
The High Court of Karnataka on Tuesday ordered issue of notices to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his wife B M Parvathi and others on a petition seeking CBI probe into the alleged MUDA site scam.
Justice M Nagaprasanna also ordered issue of notices to the CBI, the Lokayukta police, Siddaramaiah’s brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy, and Devaraj, who had sold the land to Swamy.
In addition, the court directed the Lokayukta police to place on record the investigation conducted until November 25, and adjourned the hearing until November 26.
The petition in the high court was filed by Snehamayi Krishna, one of the three complainants in the MUDA site allotment case.
Senior advocate K G Raghavan, Krishna’s counsel, contended that the Lokayukta investigation was not being carried out in a manner that will instill public confidence.
The petition stated that as chief minister, Siddaramaiah wields immense power and influence over the state departments, especially the state investigating agencies such as the police authorities and the Karnataka Lokayukta police. Further, he has openly made statements that the entire political party, his party high command, the cabinet and the entire system are supporting him in this case, the petition added.
The Supreme Court, in a catena of decisions, has held that institutional integrity is a paramount consideration in respect of constitutional functionaries. It is necessary to ensure that the investigation should not only be fair but should also be seen to be fair in order to instill confidence in the minds of complainants and the people of the state, the petition added.
The case pertains to the allotment of alternative sites by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) in favour of Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvathi, allegedly in violation of the rules.