The Great MUDA Robbery: ‘Register cases against former MUDA Commissioners’

Advocate Arunkumar handing over complaint copy to City Police Commissioner Seema Latkar at the Police Commissioner’s Office in Nazarbad this morning.

City-based advocate S. Arunkumar files complaint with City Police Commissioner

Mysuru: A complaint has been lodged with City Police Commissioner Seema Latkar by advocate S. Arunkumar of Pragabhi Law Associates in the city this afternoon seeking the registration of criminal complaints against previous MUDA Commissioners Dr. D.B. Natesh, G.T. Dinesh Kumar and others. The complaint points out that the officers and others concerned worked contrary to the provisions of Karnataka Urban Development Authorities Act 1987 (KUDA), Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and other relevant Acts, causing a loss of more than Rs. 5,000 crore to the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA).

Seeking Commissioner’s intervention

Arunkumar has stated in his complaint that the jurisdictional Lakshmipuram Police are not registering cases connected to MUDA scam for the reasons best known to them and are forwarding the said complaints to the Commission, constituted by the Government of Karnataka to look into the MUDA scam.

He urged the Police Commissioner to direct the Lakshmipuram Police to register a case against former MUDA Commissioners Natesh, Dinesh Kumar, and all officers concerned and also the MUDA Board members for abetting the crime particularly in 50:50 ratio of site allotment, change of sites, bit of land schemes and creating a loss to the Government.

The complaints must be registered under relevant sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (earlier Indian Penal Code) along with the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and other relevant sections of the law, Arunkumar urged.

Supreme Court judgements

To reinforce his argument, Arunkumar has mentioned that the Supreme Court of India has held that if a Government servant is involved in any corruption, then the jurisdictional Police can register FIR and can seek for sanction at any stage of the investigation. But on the face of corruption, it can’t refuse to register the FIR.

Citing several Supreme Court and High Court judgements, he said that it is not part of the duty of a public servant, while discharging his official duties, to enter into a criminal conspiracy or to indulge in criminal misconduct.

Several acts of misconduct

In MUDA, the Commissioners and other officers concerned and Board members have done acts of forgery, impersonation, cheating, criminal conspiracy, abetment, public servant disobeying law, framing incorrect document, criminal breach of trust, forged electronic record, criminal misconduct by public servant, public servant being bribed, etc. particularly during the tenure of Dr. Natesh and Dinesh Kumar, Arunkumar stated.

Previous DC’s letter in 2023

“The previous Deputy Commissioner of Mysuru Dr. K.V. Rajendra has written a letter to the Government of Karnataka on 27.11.2023 citing the illegal activities of MUDA contrary to the provisions of the KUDA Act by the then Commissioner and thereby creating a loss of more than Rs. 1000 crore. He has even stated that without any provision of law permitting the MUDA to consider cases on retrospective basis, the MUDA has implemented the 50:50 scheme which came into existence in the year 11.02.2015 to land acquisition cases before 2015,” Arunkumar’s complaint stated.

As per Dr. Rajendra’s letter, in cases where the land acquisition process is not completed/the land is not acquired, MUDA has decided to compensate the land owners in a 50:50 ratio. Informing, as per the decision, action was initiated to provide compensation to land owners as per Rule 13(2a) of the Karnataka Urban Development Act. The Commissioner under Section 13(2a) of KUDA, prior to implementation of the decision of the Board, had to get approval from the Government. But the Commissioner has not produced any documents to substantiate that he has taken prior approval of the decision taken by MUDA,” Arunkumar said in the complaint.