A Division Bench of the High Court of Karnataka on Wednesday ordered issue of notice to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his wife B.M. Parvathi, and others on an appeal filed by social activist Snehamayi Krishna, who has questioned a single judge’s judgement rejecting his plea to transfer to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) the probe into illegalities in allotment of sites by the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA).
The Bench comprising Chief Justice N.V. Anjaria and Justice K.V. Aravind, which briefly heard the arguments by Mr. Krishna’s advocates, has adjourned further hearing till April 28. A single-judge Bench on February 7, 2025, dismissed Mr. Krishna’s plea for transferring the probe to the CBI.
Meanwhile, the Bench also ordered issuance of notice to the State and the Union governments, the CBI, the Lokayukta police, B.M. Mallikarjuna Swamy, brother of Ms. Parvathi, and Devaraju J., who had sold three acres and 16 guntas of land to Mr. Swamy after getting it denotified from MUDA.
On the single judge’s finding that Mr. Krishna could not have sought transfer of probe to the CBI when he himself had sought a probe by the Lokayukta police in his complaint lodged before the special court of sessions for criminal cases against former and present MPs and MLAs in the MUDA case, it has contended in the appeal that he had no option to make such a plea before the special court as it had no jurisdiction to refer the probe to CBI. It is only the High Court which can refer the investigation to the CBI, it has been pointed out in the appeal.
While giving a finding that the Lokayukta is an independent institution, the single judge had failed to note that police personnel and officers, attached to the Lokayukta police wing, are merely sent on deputation to the Lokayukta and their administrative control still remains with the State government.
When the State government has the administrative control even over the police personnel and officers deputed to the Lokayukta, the possibility of interference by the State government, headed by the CM, who is an accused in MUDA case, cannot be ruled out, and hence Lokayukta police wing cannot be termed as an independent investigating agency, it has been contended in the appeal.
Published – April 16, 2025 07:03 pm IST
