Synopsis
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah faces a crisis after the high court upheld Governor Gehlot’s sanction for an investigation into alleged unlawful allotment of housing plots to his wife. Siddaramaiah accuses BJP and JDS of conspiring against him, while BJP demands his resignation for a fair probe.
AgenciesThe ruling Congress in Karnataka plunged into a crisis on Tuesday after the high court dismissed chief minister Siddaramaiah‘s petition challenging governor Thawarchand Gehlot’s August 16 order of sanction against him in a case of “unlawful” allotment of housing plots to his wife in Mysuru.
The CM rejected demands for his resignation and declared he would fight the case, accusing the BJP and JDS of hatching a conspiracy to weaken the Congress government.
Justice M Nagaprasanna, in a 197-page judgment, upheld the governor’s sanction and said, “No fault can be found in the action of the governor exercising independent discretion to pass the impugned order.”
The governor’s order does not suffer from want of application of mind, he said.
The judgment came on a writ petition the CM had filed seeking quashing of the governor’s permission granted under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Section 218 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.
“The facts narrated in the petition would undoubtedly require an investigation. In the teeth of the fact that the beneficiary of all these acts is not anybody outside, but the wife of the petitioner,” the judge said, referring to the allotment of plots.
CM’s Son Party to Meeting: Judge
The judge further said that it was difficult to accept that the beneficiary of the transaction was not the family of the petitioner. “In the decision-making process at a certain time the son of the petitioner (CM) was a party to the meeting which took a decision finally to allot 14 sites. It is too bleak contention meriting any acceptance albeit prima facie that the petitioner was not behind everything standing just behind the curtain. It is not behind the smoke screen but behind the curtain even,” he said.
The CM said the high court had only limited the scope of investigation to 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and rejected the sanction under section 218 of the BNSS.
Siddaramaiah said his battle with the Raj Bhavan was a “fight against the vengeful politics of the central government led by Narendra Modi”. “Across the country, under the leadership of Narendra Modi, BJP is carrying out a conspiracy to misuse Raj Bhavans to destabilise Opposition governments,” he said.
Meanwhile, opposition BJP urged Siddaramaiah to resign as CM in the wake of the order.
Resignation Needed for Fair Probe: BJP
Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka urged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjuna Kharge to immediately seek the CM’s resignation to make way for a free and fair investigation. BJP Karnataka president BY Vijayendra said the judiciary would come down harder on Siddaramaiah if he chose to cling on to his seat.
The judgment will pave the way for resumption of hearing at a special court of a private complaint filed against the CM.
The case relates to Siddaramaiah’s wife being allotted 14 pricey plots in an upscale residential area in Mysuru in return for 3.16 acres of land that Mysuru Urban Development Authority acquired in Kesare village on the city outskirts.
The governor’s order of sanction came in response to requests from activists TJ Abraham, Pradeep Kumar SP and Snehamayi Krishna. The governor issued a seven-page order highlighting the complaint and the grounds for his decision to permit prosecution of the CM.
