Address used to contest South Teachers Constituency elections; Marithibbegowda denies charges

Mysuru: Supreme Court Advocate D. Arun Das has accused former Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Council Marithibbegowda of misusing his (Arun’s) residential address for election purposes.

Arun has alleged that Marithibbegowda had been using the address for ‘benami’ property transactions involving his close aide H.A. Prabhakar and also to contest elections from the South Teachers Constituency.

Addressing media persons at Pathrakarthara Bhavan on Thursday, Advocate Arun said, “I have been residing at Door No. M-14, 3rd Stage, KHB Colony, Kuvempunagar. For several years, we have been receiving documents related to Marithibbegowda through post and many people have also been visiting our house looking for the former MLC.”

Election Commission affidavit

“Initially, I thought there was some mistake and overlooked it. However, during the elections, the BLOs delivered the voters’ list belonging to Marithibbegowda to our address. It was then that I became curious and started looking into the matter. During this process, I examined the affidavit submitted by Marithibbegowda to the Election Commission during the 2018 elections,” he said.

According to Arun Das, in Part A of the affidavit, Marithibbegowda had sworn that he was residing at his residence on Chithrabanu Road.

“However, in Column 2, the candidate, for eligibility to contest the election, had also sworn that he had registered his name at Serial No. 87, Part No. 58 of the 216-Krishnaraja Constituency.”

“According to the data available, the above-mentioned serial number and part number in the voters’ list belong to the property owned by me at Door No. M-14, 3rd Stage, KHB Colony, Kuvempunagar, where Marithibbegowda never resided. He has been misusing the address for the past 12 years to register fake voters and cheat the authorities,” he alleged.

Arun said that following complaints against Marithibbegowda on Dec. 27, 2023 and against his wife on Jan. 2, 2024, before the Election Commission, both got their address changed to No. 275, ‘Mathrushree,’ D-Block, 3rd Stage, Vijayanagar and contested the 2024 Legislative Council election.

PMO informed

The matter of Marithibbegowda allegedly using a fake address to contest from the South Teachers Constituency was brought to the notice of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). It was later forwarded to the Election Commission.

Following this, the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) issued a show-cause notice to Marithibbegowda seeking an explanation, Arun said.

As part of the further investigation into the matter, the Election Commission will conduct a spot inspection. The MCC Zone-3 Election Officer will conduct a thorough investigation and submit a report to the MCC Commissioner. The report will subsequently be forwarded to the Regional Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner and finally, the Election Commission, he said.

Close aide involved

Advocate Arun alleged that Marithibbegowda’s close aide H.A. Prabhakar, who is involved in land deals around Maratikyathanahalli and surrounding areas, had also used the address of the Kuvempunagar property.

Meanwhile, when developers arrived at the land, farmers opposed its development and the matter is pending before the Court. However, the notices issued by the Court are being delivered to his address, Arun said.

Threat from rowdies, Police

Arun alleged that soon after a case was filed regarding the alleged misuse of his address, rowdies were sent to his house.

He further alleged that when the Police came to question him and learnt that he was an Advocate, they backed off after apologising.

‘I was residing there’

I have submitted a detailed explanation to the notice served by the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) in the matter. I had rented the property bearing No. M-14, 3rd Stage, KHB Colony, Kuvempunagar, for several years and have documents to establish this.

Devadas, Arun Das’ father and I were closely acquainted, which Arun Das was unaware of. He had no information about my residing at the said address as he was studying outside Mysuru.

Arun has alleged that one of my close aides, Prabhakar, was involved in ‘benami’ property transactions. In fact, Prabhakar is Arun Das’ uncle, and it was through him that I was introduced to Devadas. The allegations against him are baseless, as he is not involved in any ‘benami’ property transactions.

—Marithibbegowda, former MLC