Politics has intensified in Karnataka after Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot ordered sanctions for probe against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for his involvement in the alleged MUDA scam. While the Chief Minister has challenged the Governor’s move, the probe order itself is mired in legal complications.
The Karnataka Governor has granted permission for an investigation against Siddaramaiah under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. This sanction allows the investigating agency to conduct a probe into alleged corrupt activities involving Siddaramaiah.
However, the Governor has not yet granted the required sanction under Section 19 of the PC Act for Siddaramaiah’s prosecution. Without this sanction, even if the investigation results in a chargesheet, prosecution cannot proceed further.
In addition to this, the Governor has also granted a sanction under Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023. This allows the court to directly take cognisance of alleged offences without requiring an investigation, based on available materials.
However, if charges under the PC Act are combined with those under the BNSS, the case cannot move forward without the separate Section 19 sanction.
Several private complaints against Siddaramaiah are pending before the Special Court of Sessions for MPs and MLAs. These complaints may lead to a court-ordered investigation, which can proceed based on the current sanction. Nevertheless, further prosecution will still require the Governor’s approval under Section 19.
If the investigation expands to include other public servants, such as Siddaramaiah’s son or IAS officers, separate sanctions under Section 17A of the PC Act will be necessary.
On Monday, Siddaramaiah filed a writ petition before the Karnataka High Court challenging Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot’s order sanctioning an investigation against him. The court has asked the special court not to start any proceedings against the Chief Minister until its next hearing on August 9.
Siddaramaiah is under the scanner over the alleged irregularities in the compensatory land allocation to his wife by the MUDA during his term as Chief Minister.
The controversy centres on a 3.16-acre parcel of land in Kesaru village owned by Siddaramaiah’s wife, Parvathi. This land was acquired by MUDA for development of a layout and Parvathi was allocated 14 premium sites in Vijayanagar in 2022 as compensation under a 50:50 scheme.
However, activists alleged that the plot allotted to Parvathi had a higher property value as compared to the location of her land that was acquired by MUDA.