Karnataka Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah will be prosecuted over the alleged irregularities in site allocations by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA). Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot has sanctioned his prosecution in the MUDA land scam case based on petitions filed by three activists – Pradeep Kumar, TJ Abraham, and Snehamayi Krishna.
“As directed by the Governor, I am enclosing herewith the copy of the decision of the Competent Authority on the request of sanction for prosecution against the Chief Minister Shri Siddaramaiah, under Section 17 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarika Suraksha Samhitha, 2023 for the commission of the alleged offences mention in the petitions,” said a letter from the Governor’s Secretariat to the activists.
The Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) has confirmed that it has received this communication.
Siddaramaiah had earlier termed the charges “politically motivated”.
The Governor had last month issued a “show-cause notice” to the Chief Minister, directing him to reply to the allegations against him within seven days and state why he shouldn’t be prosecuted.
This sparked a resolution by the state cabinet asking the Governor not to sanction the prosecution. The Siddaramaiah-led government had also advised him to withdraw the notice and alleged “gross misuse of the Constitutional Office” of the Governor.
The Governor’s notice followed a petition by anti-corruption activist TJ Abraham to prosecute Siddaramaiah over alleged irregularities in the MUDA. In his petition, he alleged the multi-crore scam caused huge losses to the state’s exchequer.
In a complaint filed with the Lokayukta police in July, Mr Abraham had alleged that the allotment of 14 alternative sites in an upscale Mysuru neighbourhood to Siddaramaiah’s wife BM Parvathi was illegal, which caused the exchequer a Rs 45 crore loss.
The complaint named Siddaramaiah, wis wife, son S Yathindra, and senior MUDA officials.