BENGALURU/MYSURU: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah suffered a second judicial setback in as many days when a special court on Wednesday ordered a Lokayukta investigation into his alleged use of “undue influence” to get Mysore Urban Development Authority (Muda) to allot his wife B S Parvathi 14 plots in the heart of the city as part of a disputed land swap.The order, which came on a petition from Mysuru activist Snehamayi Krishna, follows Karnataka high court’s rejection of Siddaramaiah’s legal challenge of governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot’s sanction for a probe into allegations levelled against him in the case.
Special judge Gajanana Bhat directed the Lokayukta SP to register a case against Siddaramaiah, the latter’s wife and others named in the case. The agency is required to file a report within three months.
The next hearing in the case is slated for Dec 24.Karnataka Lokayukta’s Mysuru office said it was still awaiting communication from the headquarters regarding the Muda case.
It was a Lokayukta probe into illegal mining that led to B S Yediyurappa resigning as CM in 2011.Krishna’s petition names Siddaramaiah as accused no. 1, followed by his wife, brother-in-law Mallikarjun Swamy, Devaraju J (son of the original owner of the land), and others.
The activist has accused the two-time CM, who started his second term at the helm of a Congress govt 16 months ago, of misusing his official position to acquire nearly 3.2 acres at Kesare village of Mysuru’s Devanuru Mahedava Layout. This tranche of land was then allegedly exchanged for 14 sites in Vijayanagar III stage in Mysuru city by fabricating documents.