Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Apr 9: The Special Court for MLAs and MPs in Bengaluru has reserved its verdict on the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) objection to the closure report submitted by the Karnataka Lokayukta in the high-profile Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) case, which names Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his family members.

Following a series of arguments and counterarguments, judge Santhosh Gajanan Bhat on Wednesday said that the order will be pronounced on April 15.

The ED, in its plea, has challenged the Lokayukta’s closure report and urged the court to reject it in the interest of justice. The agency asserted that its own investigation into the alleged money laundering linked to the MUDA case was not taken into consideration by the Lokayukta while filing the 'B Report'.

Senior advocate Madhukar Deshpande, representing the ED, contended that the closure report disregarded substantial evidence gathered by the ED, including details of illegal land allotments and routing of alleged proceeds of crime.

“The ED, as an independent investigative agency under the PMLA, has the authority to question the findings of another investigative agency, especially when material evidence is overlooked,” Deshpande argued. He further noted that the Supreme Court has previously ruled that accused persons in money laundering cases should not be let off without thorough scrutiny.

The MUDA case revolves around the alleged illegal allotment of 14 residential sites to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife, Parvati, under the controversial 50:50 scheme in return for 3.16 acres of land that she received as a gift from her brother, Mallikarjunaswamy the third accused. It is alleged that Parvati did not hold legal title to the said land.

The Lokayukta had earlier filed a closure report, citing insufficient evidence against Siddaramaiah, his wife Parvati, his brother-in-law Mallikarjunaswamy, and landowner J Devaraju. However, the ED objected to this report on April 2, arguing that evidence shared with the Lokayukta regarding illegalities in denotification and site allotment was ignored.

Meanwhile, petitioner Snehamayi Krishna, who has been actively pursuing the case, filed a plea questioning the integrity of the Lokayukta’s investigation and also approached the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), raising concerns over the clean chit given to the CM and his family members. Krishna had previously petitioned the High Court seeking a CBI probe, but the request was quashed by a single bench.

Earlier, on March 7, the Karnataka High Court had also quashed the ED’s summons issued to Parvati Siddaramaiah and Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh.

As the political and legal drama intensifies, all eyes are now on the Special Court’s verdict due on April 15, which will decide whether the case will be reopened for further investigation.