The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah against the Governor’s sanction to prosecute him in the alleged Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam case.
The high-profile case involves allegations that MUDA illegally allotted 14 sites to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife, B M Parvati, in an upscale area of Mysuru city. A 3.2-acre tract of land lies at the centre of the MUDA scam. It has been alleged that the land was gifted to Parvathi by her brother Mallikarjunaswamy in 2010. Parvathi requested compensation and was allotted 14 plots after MUDA acquired the land. It has been alleged that these sites had a higher property value than the location of her land, which was “acquired” by MUDA.
The MUDA case dates back to 23 years when land from a Kesere villager named Ninga was officially acquired. Here’s a timeline of the events leading up to the High Court rejecting Siddaramaiah’s plea challenging the Governor’s sanction for his prosecution.
2001: A preliminary notification was issued for acquiring Ninga’s land measuring 3.16 acres, which was later denotified from the acquisition process. The same land was later utilised to form the third phase of the Devanur Layout while sites were allotted.
November 2003: Land was restored in the name of its original owner.
August 2004: Mallikarjunaswamy, brother-in-law of Siddaramaiah, purchased the 3.16 acres of ‘agricultural’ land.
July 2005: Mallikarjunaswamy submitted an application to the Deputy Commissioner of Mysuru for a change of land use.
October 2010: Mallikarjunaswamy gifted the land to his sister, Parvathi, wife of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
2011-2013: MUDA ‘illegally’ acquired Parvathi’s land parcel and distributed sites, developing a park and roads. MUDA later accepted the mistake.
June 2014: Parvati applied for compensation from MUDA complaining that the land belonging to her had been used for developing sites without her knowledge. Siddaramaiah was then the Chief Minister of Karnataka.
December 2017: MUDA admitted using the denotified land for the layout and decided to grant alternative sites to Siddaramaiah’s wife.
November 2020: MUDA agrees to award alternative sites on a 50:50 basis, which means that Parvathi will be provided half the land as developed plots.
October 2021: Parvathi petitions MUDA again. She seeks alternative sites as compensation.
October 2021: When the BJP was in power in Karnataka, 14 alternative sites were allotted to Parvathi on October 25, 2021. The sites were sanctioned by a MUDA Committee comprising BJP members.
October 2023: The Karnataka government scraps the 50:50 scheme.
July 4 2024: Siddaramaiah seeks ₹62 crore compensation and claims his land was usurped. As a result, the Karnataka government sets up a one-man inquiry commission to probe the matter.
July 26 2024: Karnataka governor Thawar Chand Gehlot issues a show-cause notice to Siddaramaiah following a petition from social activist TJ Abraham.
August 1 2024: The state cabinet urges the Governor to withdraw the show-cause notice to Siddaramaiah. The CM responds to the Governor’s notice and denies all allegations.
August 3-10, 2024: Opposition parties BJP and JD (S) organise a foot march to Mysuru.
August 16 2024: Gehlot grants sanction for an investigation against the Chief Minister.
August 19 2024: Siddaramaiah files a plea in the High Court challenging the Governor’s sanction for prosecution under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and also under Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.
September 24 2024: The Karnataka High Court dismisses Siddaramaiah’s petition challenging the Governor’s sanction to prosecute him in the case.
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