MUDA Case: Special Court Expected to Rule on ED's Challenge to Closure Report Against CM Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru, April 8 (NationPress) The Special Court for MP/MLA is anticipated to announce its decision on Tuesday concerning the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) objection to the closure report presented by the Karnataka Lokayukta in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam case.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is identified as the primary accused, followed by his spouse B.M. Parvathi as the second, his brother-in-law Mallikarjunaswamy as the third, and landowner J. Devaraju as the fourth individual implicated in the land scam. The Karnataka Lokayukta had submitted a closure report against these four parties, citing insufficient evidence.

The ED lodged an objection to this closure report on April 2, and petitioner Snehamayi Krishna also filed a motion in court contesting the Lokayukta’s investigation. The court is set to hear the arguments of the ED alongside those representing the Chief Minister.

The court has previously considered arguments and counterarguments related to Snehamayi Krishna’s objection petition on the same issue. A ruling on the closure report in the MUDA scam case is anticipated to be issued following the day’s proceedings.

In its petition, the ED urged the court to reject the closure report filed by the Karnataka Lokayukta, Mysuru, in the interest of justice and to provide necessary directives for further investigation into the case.

The ED submitted its objections through the Assistant Director under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The ED stated in its objections, “The investigation conducted revealed illegalities in the land acquisition, allotment, generation of proceeds of crime, and the routing/layering of these through undue influence in allotment.”

“The evidence/information gathered during the investigation under the PMLA, 2002, was communicated to the Lokayukta police, Mysuru, via a letter. Currently, the Lokayukta has filed a report related to this. An examination of the report indicates that the evidence concerning illegalities in the denotification process of the 3 acre 16 gunta land at Survey number 464 of Kesare village, shared by this directorate with the Lokayukta police, has not been included in the report,” the ED remarked.

The MUDA case pertains to the alleged unlawful allocation of 14 sites to the CM’s wife under a 50:50 ratio scheme in exchange for 3.16 acres of land reportedly gifted to her by her brother, who is the third accused. Allegations suggest that the CM’s wife possessed no legal title to this 3.16 acres of land.

The Special Court mandated filing the PCR by September 25, 2024. The Lokayukta police in Mysuru had registered an FIR naming CM Siddaramaiah along with his family members and others. The ED initiated a case on October 1, 2024, and an investigation under the PMLA commenced.

The Lokayukta had submitted a closure report against CM Siddaramaiah, his wife Parvati, brother-in-law Mallikarjunaswamy, and landowner Devaraju.

The Karnataka High Court on March 7 annulled the summons issued by the ED to CM Siddaramaiah’s wife, B.M. Parvathi, and state Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh in relation to the MUDA case.

The petitioner Snehamayi Krishna filed a complaint with the Commissioner of the Central Vigilance Committee (CVC) on March 12 against senior IPS officers serving in the Karnataka Lokayukta, questioning the clean chit provided to the CM and his family members.

The petitioner also submitted a writ petition before the division bench of the Karnataka High Court, challenging the order of the single bench that dismissed his appeal for a CBI investigation into the MUDA case.