MUDA case in HC today, AG to place arguments for CM Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru, Sep 9 (IANS) The High Court bench headed by Justice M. Nagaprasanna will take up the matter of the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam allegedly involving Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday and Advocate General (AG) Shashi Kiran Shetty will make his submission in favour of the CM in the case.

CM Siddaramaiah has filed a writ petition before the High Court challenging the order by Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, who gave sanction for prosecution against him in the case. CM Siddaramaiah has sought interim relief against the order and also demanded quashing of the order.

The CM is represented by senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi and the Governor’s office is represented by the Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta. The MUDA case will be taken up by the court later this afternoon.

Advocate General Shashi Kiran Shetty is expected to counter the arguments made by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who has argued that the cabinet did not exercise its discretion when it sent its 91-page opinion to the Governor recommending the withdrawal of the show-cause notice against CM Siddaramaiah. The Governor had issued a show-cause notice to the CM, asking why he should not grant sanction for his prosecution in the MUDA case.

It was also argued that the Advocate General’s opinion was forwarded to the Governor verbatim, without even bothering to change a comma or full stop. The Congress government had convened a special cabinet meeting and advised the Governor to withdraw the show-cause notice based on the Advocate General's opinion.

The case is reaching its final stage, and an order is likely to be pronounced by the weekend.

The Karnataka government has suspended former MUDA Commissioner G.T. Dinesh Kumar in connection with the charges against him during his tenure at the civic agency. Dinesh Kumar has been placed under suspension with immediate effect, pending an inquiry. He has also been instructed not to leave the headquarters without permission.

The report submitted to the government regarding the MUDA case indicates that decisions were made to construct layouts without acquiring the necessary land and without informing the relevant meetings. Decisions were also made for parallel allotments and also with a 50:50 ratio, which is against the law. No action was taken regarding the auctioning of corner sites in the layouts.

The BJP has seized upon this development, alleging that it suggests a scam and that it is only a matter of time before CM Siddaramaiah will be asked to step down.

Singhvi has argued that the Governor did not follow the principles of natural justice while granting permission for a probe against CM Siddaramaiah. He also stated that the Governor did not consider the advice given by the Cabinet in this matter.

Defending the Governor, Tushar Mehta submitted that the decision was made lawfully and that all due process was followed.

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