As an interim relief, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will not face proceedings until the trial court hears a case related to the sanction imposed on Governor Thawarchand Gehlot in connection with the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land scam prosecution.
Single High Court bench of Justice Hemant Chandangoudar said: “Since this court has heard the case and the petition is about to be completed… till the next hearing, the court concerned (trial court) should defer Trial.
Siddaramaiah was represented by senior lawyer Abhishek Singhvi, who urged the court to prevent “any hasty action” and argued that the Governor's sanctions were “aimed at derailing the formal elections in Karnataka” part of a joint effort to produce government stability”.
Complaints and rebuttals
Three complainants – TJ Abraham, Snehamayi Krishna and Pradeep Kumar, all anti-corruption activists – approached the governor in July accusing Siddaramaiah's brother-in-law BM Mallikarjun of corruption in the 2004 acquisition of 3.16 acres of land in Kesare village, Mysuru Behavior. In 2010, Mallikarjun gifted the land to Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi BM. In 2021, under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rule in Karnataka, she was given a plot totaling 38,283 sq ft in the prime Vijayanagara area of Mysuru as compensation.
Siddaramaiah filed a writ petition in the Karnataka High Court (HC) challenging the sanction order issued by Gehlot allowing him to prosecute and investigate alleged irregularities in the allotment of alternative land to his wife by MUDA.
As a law-abiding citizen who believes in the Constitution and the power of the judiciary to uphold justice and fairness, I moved the Karnataka High Court against the illegal and politically motivated decision of the Karnataka Governor to allow the investigation and …Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) August 19, 2024
Questions about governor's nod
Singhvi said the governor “chose this particular complaint” [filed by Abraham]… There are 12 to 15 outstanding complaints without any justification.” He argued that the conditions required for the application of Section 17 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, under which the Chief Minister was charged.
In a 47-page petition, the chief minister sought revocation of the permission to prosecute granted by the Governor under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, on Abraham's complaint. The sanction has been previously approved under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.
The court noted that the Governor imposed the sanctions “with great speed” after Abraham filed his complaint on July 26, as alleged in the writ petition. Sanctions) reflect (the Governor's) lack of focus.
Singhvi highlighted errors in the show-cause notice sent to Siddaramaiah, which mentioned one complaint, while the governor's sanction mentioned “other complaints”, indicating a mismatch.
Singhvi argued that the governor acted with legal malice. He noted, “Mr. Abraham's complaint was received and on the same day, the Governor issued a show-cause notice. When a complaint is made to a 'friendly Governor' and a notice is issued immediately, legal mala fides must be inferred.”
Siddaramaiah called the sanction “legally unsustainable, procedurally flawed and motivated by irrelevant considerations” and demanded revocation of the order issued by the Governor on August 16.
The petition calls the governor's sanctions a “political vendetta and abuse of the office of governor,” and further claims that the order was “hastily issued without due consideration of the material facts, law, and constitutional authority governing such action.”
The petition argued that the sanction order was “malicious and part of a concerted effort to destabilize the duly elected government of Karnataka for political reasons”.
political war of words
The BJP accused Siddaramaiah of influencing officials to get compensation in prime locations, saying the market value of these plots was much higher than the original land value in Kesare. Siddaramaiah refuted the claims and said his wife was entitled to compensation and he had ensured that no decision would be taken on the issue while he was chief minister.
In response to the Congress party's firm stance that Siddaramaiah would not step down over these “baseless accusations”, the BJP kicked off the pressure with a week-long rally from Bengaluru to Mysuru on August 3 Padayatra campaign, demanding the chief minister's resignation on moral grounds.
The Congress party fought back by holding a Gyanandurana meeting and public rallies along the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway to defy the BJP-JJP leader's demand for his resignation.
“I have done nothing wrong. I am fully confident of getting relief from the courts. My conscience is clear; I have done nothing wrong. I have been a minister for 40 years and there has been no black spot in my political life during this period. I Dedicated to serving people and getting their blessings, my political life is like an open book. The people of the state also know that I have done nothing wrong and the court will know,” Siddaramaiah told the high court. Said before the case.
There is no case against me and the governor's decision is unconstitutional. We will challenge this illegal sanction in court. A show cause notice was issued from the day the complaint was filed against me. The governor's move was expected… pic.twitter.com/n58cqizL2k— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) August 17, 2024
Regarding the demand by the BJP and JD(S) for his resignation, Siddaramaiah said it was a conspiracy by the opposition parties, the BJP, JD(S) and the central government to use Raj Bhavan. “They have taken such action to malign me with malicious intent. The protest by the BJP is malicious and we will face it politically. We will take legal and political fight against this conspiracy. The political fight has been going on and I will More combative. They were living under the illusion that I could be done with politics,” he said.
Meanwhile, senior Congress ministers and leaders KJ George, GC Chandrashekhar and Ramesh Babu each wrote to President Droupadi Murmu urging her immediate intervention to withdraw the indictment sanctions against the chief minister.
In the letter, Babu called it a “grave injustice and politically motivated act by Gehlot that threatens the very essence of our democracy and the constitutional values on which our great nation was founded” and a direct attack on the democratically elected government. Karnataka “This is a well-orchestrated conspiracy to destabilize the government which has accepted the mandate of the people of Karnataka.”
Karnataka BJP leaders also staged protests in front of the Assembly building, continuing to seek the resignation of the chief minister. “Today we demand the resignation of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. He has looted the poor; that is why we are protesting against him and the entire Congress government… This government is an ATM machine for the Congress high command,” Kanata said Ashok, leader of the opposition in the state assembly.
BJP leader Ravi said the BJP is protesting against the Karnataka government and Siddaramaiah. “There are allegations of corruption in Siddaramaiah. The MUDA scam has happened; everyone knows it… The Governor issued orders as per the Constitution of India. We are here to remind the Congress of what they said in opposition. The post of Governor is constitutional prescribed position. Therefore, it is wrong to protest against his order,” the BJP leader said.
