BJP govt gave MUDA discretion to award alternative sites: Siddaramaiah to Karnataka High Court

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah told the Karnataka High Court on Thursday that the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) was given absolute discretion to allot land by the then Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led coalition government in the State in 2019..The controversial 50:50 land allotment scheme for prime MUDA land in exchange for land illegally acquired by the authority, under which his wife Parvathi received developed land plots and monetary compensation, was based on a 2019 mandate passed by the same government, Siddaramiah said.The submissions were made on behalf of the Chief Minister by Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi..“The BJP coalition party came to power on 26 July 2019. The official principal secretary level decision to say that MUDA will take a decision at their level was on 14.11.2019 and MUDA acting under that mandate of a different government decided to give 50 percent of the developed area as compensation wherever MUDA has not acquired but utilised land,” Singhvi said.The senior lawyer told Justice M Nagaprasanna that Siddaramaiah had no role in either the acquisition of the land or its subsequent de-notifictaion, sale etc. Such decisions were taken solely by MUDA, based on rules and laws made by the previous government, he said..The Court was hearing a plea filed by Siddaramaiah challenging the sanction granted by Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot to prosecute him in the alleged MUDA scam case. Such sanction was granted on July 26 this year following private complaints made by activists TJ Abraham, Snehamai Krishna and Pradeep Kumar SP..As per the complaint, Siddaramaiah’s wife, Parvathi, was ‘gifted’ a land plot measuring a little over three acres by her brother Mallikarjuna Swamy. Such land was initially acquired, then de-notified, and bought by Swamy. It was developed by MUDA even as private individuals owned it.Swamy claims to have bought the land in 2004 and gifted it to his sister. But since the land was illegally developed by MUDA, Parvathi sought compensation. She allegedly received highly inflated compensation, including 14 developed alternate plots of land that were much higher in value than the original three acres, under the 50:50 scheme.When MUDA was unable to acquire land at a break-even price, it used to hand over a portion of the developed land to the person from whom it was acquired. Initially, it was 60 per cent of the developed land for MUDA and 40 per cent to the owner of the land. Subsequently, it became 50:50..Siddaramaiah has maintained that these decisions to compensate his wife were taken by MUDA independently without his interference or influence.He has also alleged that the Governor’s sanction under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act to prosecute him was mala fide and taken without any application of mind..Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the Governor’s office, argued that Gehlot had issued such sanction after noting that there existed prima facie material for investigation in the matter. He had also said that the Governor had decided to act independently, without relying on the advice of the Council of Ministers, because the latter had simply copy-pasted the State’s brief and advised him against issuing the sanction..On Thursday, Singhvi reiterated that the Governor was bound to consider the advice of the Council of Ministers. Justice Nagaprasanna questioned how the Council could be unbiased given that its own CM was facing prosecution.“Which Council of Ministers will tell the Governor that he should give sanction against their CM?” Justice Nagaprasanna had asked.Singhvi went on to allege that one of the complainants, TJ Abraham, had criminal antecedents and had been booked in a case of criminal intimidation.Justice Nagaprasanna, however, said that "sometimes, whistleblowers do face these things." The judge, however, added that he will take into consideration the Senior Advocate's submissions..The Court closed all arguments in the case and reserved orders.