Lokayukta police book Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah in MUDA case

The Lokayukta police on Friday registered a first information report against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and others in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority site allotment case, following the court order.

IMAGE: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Photograph: ANI Photo

Congress president M Mallikarjun Kharge, meanwhile, came to Siddaramaiah's defence, stating that the party is standing with him and will support him.

Siddaramaiah, who began his three-day visit to his home district of Mysuru, claimed that he was being targeted in the MUDA issue as the opposition is "scared" of him and said it's the first such "political case" against him.

He also reiterated that he won't resign following the court ordering a probe against him in the case as he has done no wrong and asserted that he would fight the case legally.

While Siddaramaiah is accused number one (A1) in the case, his wife B M Parvathi (A2), brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy (A3), Devaraju (A4) -- from whom Mallikarjuna Swamy purchased land and gifted it to Parvathi -- and others are named in the FIR registered by Lokayukta police in Mysuru.

A Special Court in Bengaluru on Wednesday ordered a Lokayukta police probe against Siddaramaiah in the case, setting the stage for filing an FIR against him.

The order of the Special Court Judge, Santhosh Gajanan Bhat, came a day after the High Court upheld the sanction granted by the Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to conduct an investigation against Siddaramaiah on the allegations of illegalities in the allotment of 14 sites to his wife by the MUDA.

The Special Court exclusively to deal with criminal cases related to former and elected MPs/MLAs issued the order directing the Lokayukta police in Mysuru to initiate an investigation on the complaint filed by RTI activist Snehamayi Krishna.

"Acting under Sec.156(3) of Code of Criminal Procedure, the jurisdictional police i.e., Superintendent of Police, Karnataka Lokayukta, Mysuru is hereby directed to register the case, investigate and to file a report as contemplated under Sec.173 of Cr.P.C., within a period 3 months from today.." the court had said.

Accordingly, the FIR has been registered Sec.120B (Punishment of criminal conspiracy), 166 (Public servant disobeying law, with intent to cause injury to any person), 403 (Dishonest misappropriation of property), 406 ( Punishment for criminal breach of trust), 420 ( Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 426 ( Punishment for mischief), 465 (Punishment for forgery) , 468 (Forgery for purpose of cheating), 340 (Wrongful confinement), 351 (Assault) and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

The court had also listed offences punishable under sections 9 and 13 the Prevention Of Corruption Act, 1988 and under Sec.3, 53 and 54 of the Prohibition Of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988 and 3, 4 of Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition Act, 2011.

Snehamayi Krishna, expressing displeasure over "delay" on the part of Lokayukta SP, Mysuru, Udesha T J, in filing of the FIR, said this is another victory for his fight.

He said he will be approaching the high court seeking handing over the case to the CBI.

"At the initial stage during the filing of FIR itself there is a delay...can it be believed that there will be an honest probe against the Chief Minister? No. So we will fight to get this case handed over to the CBI."

Siddaramaiah arrived in Mysuru on a three-day visit to a rousing welcome by party workers and supporters in a show of strength and support.

The opposition BJP staged a protest demanding his resignation; many of the saffron party workers were whisked away by the police as they tried to march towards the venue of the meeting that the CM was attending.

Regarding BJP holding protests demanding his resignation, the CM said, "why should I resign? If one has committed wrong he has to resign, when we are saying that no wrong was done, where is the question of resigning?"

Kharge too rejected BJP's demand for Siddaramaiah's resignation, as he noted that "neither a chargesheet is filed, nor he is convicted," and said, "let the law take its own course, and when a situation comes, the party will examine."

"When the Godhra incident happened, whether (Narendra) Modi ji had resigned (as the then Gujarat CM)? Several cases were also pending against him at that time, even against Mr Shah (Union Home Minister Amit Shah)," Kharge said in response to a question on BJP questioning CM's moral right to continue, with FIR registered against him.

Let the law take its own course, and when a situation comes, the party will examine it at that time, he further said.

"Now nothing is there, (but) every day I'm seeing that MUDA, MUDA. Crores of rupees (have been) swallowed by industrialists, Rs 16 lakh crore of their debt have been written off, and now you are taking one small issue and fighting. That too neither chargesheet is filed, nor he is convicted. Every day this is news. I'm fed up seeing all these things."

In the MUDA site allotment case, it is alleged that compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah's wife in an upmarket area in Mysuru, which had higher property value as compared to the location of her land which had been "acquired" by MUDA.