Karnataka High Court extends interim relief granted to CM Siddaramaiah in MUDA scam

The Karnataka High Court on Thursday extended the interim stay on trial court proceedings against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in connection with the alleged MUDA scam case..Justice M Nagaprasanna extended its earlier order of stay till August 31, Saturday, when the matter will be heard next. The Court was hearing a plea challenging the Governor's decision to sanction prosecution against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in connection with alleged irregularities in land allocation by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA)..Representing Chief Minister (CM) Siddaramaiah, Senior Advocate Dr. AM Singhvi today argued that the Governor should have shown restraint."People like the Governor should be restrained. Anybody on the road comes to him and says give me sanction. He is so eager (and) he grants," Singhvi said.He maintained that the Governor's sanction was unreasoned, reflected a non-application of mind and a violation of natural justice principles. "My submission is that this sanction must go. I can't say what they will do in future but this sanction has to go," he said. .The Governor is being represented before the High Court by Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta. Mehta was not physically present in Court today, and joined proceedings virtually.His associate counsel (present in court) informed the Bench that the Governor would not be filing a formal reply to Siddaramaiah's petition. The Governor is willing to assist the Court by filling written submissions if the same is required after Singhvi completes his arguments, the counsel added. Meanwhile, Singhvi questioned the submissions made by other respondents (complainants) in their counter-affidavits. "Two counters that we received yesterday are full of facts as if we are in a criminal trial. But I am not required to address any of these facts because the validity of the sanction depends upon the argument of the applicant and the Governor," he said.Singhvi concluded his submissions today but reserved his right to make rejoinder submissions after the respondents finish their arguments. The matter is listed next on August 31 when SG Mehta is expected to make submissions on behalf of the Governor. Senior Advocate Maninder Singh will also be arguing for a respondent (one of the complainants) in the matter. .Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot granted sanction to prosecute Chief Minister (CM) Siddaramaiah on August 17 on private complaints made by social activists TJ Abraham, Snehamai Krishna and Pradeep Kumar SP.According to reports, the case involves allegations that there were irregularities in the award of around 14 plots of land in Mysuru to Siddaramaiah's wife by the MUDA.Siddaramaiah moved the High Court seeking relief shortly after the Governor's decision to grant prosecution sanction. The CM argued that it was an effort to undermine his government.After hearing preliminary submissions, on August 19 Justice Nagaprasanna asked the trial court to defer proceedings against CM Siddaramaiah for the time being while the High Court finally decides on his plea..[Read Live Coverage]