Bengaluru: In a major political and administrative development this morning, Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot has granted permission to prosecute Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) 50:50 site allotment scam.

The latest development indicates that the Congress Government is set for a standoff with the Governor. The Governor’s move follows a petition filed on July 26 by social activist and advocate T.J. Abraham, who sought the Governor’s sanction to prosecute CM Siddaramaiah in a case related to land allotted to Siddaramaiah’s wife, B.M. Parvathi. The Governor issued a show-cause notice to Siddaramaiah

on the same day (July 26). In rapid developments starting last night, the Governor’s Office notified the Chief Minister’s Office and the Chief Secretary of prosecution sanction.

Abraham is scheduled to meet Governor at 3 pm today. Sources said Governor will seek more documents over Abraham’s case against former CM H.D. Kumaraswamy, which alleges illegalities in a mining lease granted to Sri Sai Venkateshwara Minerals and a Rs. 150 crore bribe.

Copies of the consent letter have been issued to other petitioners, including S.P. Pradeep Kumar from Bengaluru and Snehamayi Krishna of Mysuru.

Seven-page communication

A seven-page communication to Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh by the Governor’s Secretariat on Aug. 17 stated that, based on the petitions submitted by S.P. Pradeep Kumar and T.J. Abraham and Mysuru-based Snehamayi Krishna, sanction had been given under Section 17 (A) (for investigation) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and Section 218 (for prosecution) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, for the commission of the alleged offences mentioned in the petitions.

The Governor’s Special Secretary R. Prabhushankar signed the letter addressed to the                           Chief Secretary.

CM consults legal experts

In response to the sanction for prosecution, the CM has commenced consultations with a range of legal experts. This includes his legal advisor and Virajpet MLA A.S. Ponnanna, Advocate General K. Shashi Kiran Shetty and a team of Additional Advocate Generals.

Sources informed Star of Mysore that given the High Court is in Session today, a writ petition challenging the Governor’s decision may be filed immediately. The Government and the Chief Minister’s legal team were prepared for this possibility and are currently exploring potential legal remedies for Siddaramaiah.

Cabinet meeting cancelled

In a related development, Siddaramaiah convened a special Cabinet meeting scheduled for 5 pm today at the Cabinet meeting hall on the third floor of Vidhana Soudha. A notice was issued to the Cabinet Ministers accordingly. However, the meeting was soon cancelled and rescheduled                   for Monday.

Additionally, the Council of Ministers, led by Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, would meet the Governor later in the day today to request a reconsideration of the decision to grant permission for the Chief Minister’s prosecution.

The alleged MUDA scam involves the ‘fraudulent’ allotment of sites to land losers. The scam emerged when the original owner of a 3.16-acre parcel of land in Kesare village petitioned the Mysuru Deputy Commissioner (DC) to reclaim their land.

This land parcel in question was transferred to CM Siddaramaiah’s brother-in-law in 2005. However, the controversy around the land deepened after it came to the fore that Parvathi, the CM’s wife, was allegedly allocated 14 premium sites in Mysuru in 2022 as compensation for this land under the 50:50 scheme  run by MUDA.

The controversial MUDA scheme envisages allotting 50 percent of developed land to the land loser in lieu of undeveloped land acquired for forming layouts. Both the Opposition BJP and JD(S) parties protested demanding Siddaramaiah’s resignation in connection with the scam by holding Mysuru Chalo.