Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Jan 28: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his family have received major relief in the MUDA scam case, with the special court for cases against elected representatives accepting the ‘B’ report filed by the Lokayukta police.
The court accepted the ‘B’ report in respect of Siddaramaiah, his wife B M Parvathi, his brother-in-law Mallikarjunaswamy and land owner Devaraju, effectively granting them a clean chit in the case. However, the court directed the Lokayukta police to continue further investigation against the remaining accused and submit a final report.
The order was passed by judge Santosh Gajanan Bhat of the special court for trial of criminal cases against sitting and former MPs and MLAs, while dismissing a petition filed by Mysuru-based social activist Snehamayi Krishna. The petitioner had challenged the ‘B’ report submitted by the Lokayukta police, which stated that there was no evidence to proceed against Siddaramaiah and the other three accused.
The court held that the Lokayukta police had not found any material to justify continuation of the investigation against Siddaramaiah, Parvathi, Mallikarjunaswamy and Devaraju, and therefore accepted the ‘B’ report insofar as they were concerned. With this, the plea seeking rejection of the ‘B’ report and further investigation against the four accused was rejected.
The court also dismissed an application filed by the complainant seeking initiation of contempt proceedings against the investigating officer. At the same time, it directed the Lokayukta police to continue the ongoing investigation against other accused in the case and to file a final report.
The Lokayukta police had submitted the ‘B’ report on February 20, 2025. Subsequently, Snehamayi Krishna had filed objections to the report, contending that the investigation was incomplete. Acting on his complaint, the Lokayukta police had earlier investigated allegations against Siddaramaiah, his wife B M Parvathi, his brother-in-law Mallikarjunaswamy and Devaraju J, treating them as accused numbers one to four in the case.
With the court now accepting the ‘B’ report in their favour, the chief minister and his family members have received significant legal relief in the MUDA case.