In the FIR against Siddaramaiah and his family members, cases have been booked under sections 120B, 166, 403, 406, 426, 465, 468, 340 and 351 of Indian Penal Code, under sections 9 and 13 of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, under sections 3, 53 and 54 of Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988 and under sections 3 and 4 of Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition Act, 2011.
The Lokayukta filed FIR against Siddaramaiah in connection with the alleged irregularities in plot distribution to his wife by Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) in Mysuru city. Siddaramaiah is native to Mysuru and represents Varuna Assembly seat.
On Tuesday, the Special Court ordered the Lokayukta sleuths to investigate the charges against CM and his family after High Court of Karnataka ordered for an investigation on hearing a writ petition filed by Chief Minister challenging grant of sanction for his prosecution given by Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot over MUDA plot allotment irregularities.
It may be recalled here Parvathi, wife of Siddaramaiah was allotted 14 plots by MUDA in 2021 in lieu of her losing 3.16 acres of land in Kesare of Mysuru city. While, petitioners allege irregularities in plot allotments to wife of Chief Minister but Siddaramaiah contended that his wife Parvathi has been compensated for having lost her lands to MUDA and MUDA agreed to the compensatory mechanism to allot 38, 284 sq ft in lieu of the 1, 48, 104 sq ft of land lost by his wife.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah challenged the grant of sanction for his prosecution by Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot based on petitions filed by RTI activists-Snehamayi Krishna, T.J. Abraham and S.P. Pradeep Kumar. The High Court dismissed the plea made by the Chief Minister to quash the grant of sanction for his prosecution.
One of the petitioners against Chief Minister, Snehamayi Krishna had filed a complaint against Siddaramaiah with the Lokayukta police in Mysuru. He sought action against Siddaramaiah.
Reacting to the FIR against him, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Mysuru city told reporters “A politically motivated case has been registered against him for the first time in his political career” and stated to wage a legal battle in the MUDA case. He stated opposition leaders feared his popularity among the masses and hatched a politically motivated case against me.
However, a petitioner against Chief Minister, Snehamayi Krishna told reporters he will seek for an investigation by sleuths of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Siddaramaiah and stated “Justice cannot be expected from Lokayukta investigation.”
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State president B.Y. Vijayendra sought the resignation of the Chief Minister stating 'Karnataka deserves a Chief Minister with integrity and not a scamster.’
