The Supreme Court has upheld the relief granted to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife, Parvathi, in the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) plot case, dismissing the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) plea. This decision provides significant relief to the Chief Minister and his family in a case that has been ongoing for several years.
The case revolves around allegations of illegal land allocation by MUDA, where it is claimed that a less valuable piece of land in a remote area was exchanged for prime land. Specifically, the allegations involve the allotment of compensatory sites to Parvathi in exchange for a 3.2-acre land parcel gifted to her by her brother in 2010. After MUDA acquired this land, Parvathi sought compensation and was granted 14 plots, which were allegedly far more valuable than the original property. Opposition parties have estimated the total value of the alleged scam to be between Rs 3,000 crore and Rs 4,000 crore.
The Karnataka High Court had earlier quashed the ED summons issued to Parvathi and state minister B.S. Suresha in connection with the MUDA land allotment scam. Justice M. Nagaprasanna delivered the verdict on the petitions filed by Parvathi and Suresh, who had challenged the ED summons. The High Court's decision was based on the argument that the ED was conducting a parallel investigation despite the case already being probed by the Lokayukta police and a Special Investigation Team (SIT). The High Court also dismissed a plea seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the matter, stating that an independent inquiry was already being carried out by the Karnataka Lokayukta, making a CBI investigation unnecessary.
Senior Advocate Sandesh Chouta, representing Parvathi, argued that she had a moral responsibility to ensure that such allegations were addressed, and that her returning the 14 sites to the rightful authority should not be construed as an admission of guilt. The ED, represented by Additional Solicitor General of India Arvind Kamath, contended that Parvathi was the second accused in the predicate offense and had received proceeds of crime. However, the court did not find sufficient grounds to support the ED's summons.
Prior to the High Court's decision, the Karnataka Lokayukta police had given a clean chit to Siddaramaiah and his wife in the alleged MUDA land scam case, citing a lack of evidence. The Lokayukta's findings indicated that the accusations against the four individuals involved in the case were either civil in nature, misinterpretations of legal provisions, or beyond the scope of criminal prosecution.
In a related development, the Karnataka High Court had earlier dismissed a petition by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah challenging the Governor's sanction for his prosecution in the alleged MUDA scam. The court had stated that the facts presented in the petition warranted investigation, particularly given that the beneficiary of the alleged acts was the Chief Minister's family. However, this order did not impact the relief granted to Parvathi regarding the ED summons.
The Supreme Court's decision to uphold the High Court's order provides further relief to Parvathi and effectively closes the door on the ED's attempts to investigate her in connection with the MUDA plot case. This brings a significant measure of closure to a long-standing legal battle.
