Setback For Siddaramaiah In Court

The Karnataka High Court on Monday dismissed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's petition challenging the legality of the Governor's nod to an investigation against him over alleged irregularities in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land scam case.

A bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna said the Governor "did apply his mind in abundance" and that the order (sanctioning prosecution) "does not suffer from non-application of mind..." "There is no fault in the Governor's actions. The facts narrated need investigation. The petition is dismissed," the court said.

The court subsequently also dismissed a plea by senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the Chief Minister, to stay its order for two weeks. The judge said he could not stay his own order.

The High Court's ruling means the lower court can now initiate legal proceedings against the Chief Minister, which will include filing a first information report and ramping up pressure on Siddaramaiah. The High Court had earlier directed the trial court to take no action till its verdict.

Shortly after the verdict the Bharatiya Janata Party - which has targeted the Congress government and Siddaramaiah in this matter - was up in arms, demanding, again, the Chief Minister quit. BY Vijayendra, the BJP's state unit chief, demanded Siddaramaiah "resign immediately, without further delay".

The Congress - for whom the verdict has been seen as a setback, particularly with the Haryana election next week - has backed Siddaramaiah, with his deputy, DK Shivakumar, alleging "a big conspiracy".

The alleged MUDA scam focuses on the value of land allotted to the Chief Minister's wife, Parvathi, in an upmarket area of Mysuru as compensation for land elsewhere taken for infra development. Critics allege the value of land allotted grossly - by ₹ 4,000 to ₹ 5,000 crore - exceeds that taken.