New Delhi. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has been given a jolt by the High Court on Tuesday, September 24. Now a case will be filed against CM Siddaramaiah in a land scam case.

The High Court today, i.e. on Tuesday, has dismissed Siddaramaiah's petition filed against the Governor's order in the MUDA land scam case. The court said that the things mentioned in the petition need to be investigated. The CM's family is involved in this case, so the petition is dismissed.

In fact, on August 16, Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, on the petition of Pradeep Kumar SP, TJ Abraham and Snehmayi Krishna, had approved the prosecution of the Chief Minister under section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and section 218 of the Indian Civil Security Code, 2023.

Siddaramaiah had moved the High Court on August 19 challenging the validity of the Governor's order. In the petition requesting to quash the Governor's order, the Chief Minister said that the approval order was issued without thinking and it was in violation of statutory rules.

What is MUDA land case?

Urban Development Institute Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) had acquired some land from farmers in 1992 to develop it into a residential area. In return, through 'MUDA's Incentive 50:50 Scheme', the farmers whose land was acquired were given 50 percent of the site in the developed land or an alternate site.

Mysore Urban Development Authority denotified this land in 1992 and separated it from agricultural land. Later in 1998, a part of the acquired land was denotified and returned to the farmers. This means that once again this land became agricultural land.

What is Siddaramaiah's connection with the case?

Siddaramaiah's wife Parvati Siddaramaiah had three acres and 16 guntas of land in Kesare village in Mysore district. This land was gifted to her by Parvati's brother Mallikarjuna in the year 2010.

The Mysore Urban Development Authority had developed the third phase of Devnur without acquiring this land. It is claimed that in exchange for this land, the Basavaraj Bommai government had given 14 sites in the posh area of ​​South Mysore to Parvati in 2022. These had a total area of ​​38,283 square feet under the 50:50 ratio plan.

What are the allegations against Siddaramaiah and his family?

Snehamayi Krishna, who filed a complaint against Siddaramaiah, has alleged that...

The plot given to Parvathy Siddaramaiah as compensation by the Mysore Urban Development Authority is worth much more than the land she owns.

CM Siddaramaiah forged documents to show Mysore Urban Development Authority site as family property.

Siddaramaiah held influential positions like Deputy CM or CM in Karnataka from 1998 to 2023. Although he may not be directly involved in the scam, he has used his power to benefit his close people.

Parvati Siddaramaiah's brother Mallikarjuna had illegally purchased the denotified three acres of land in 2004 and in 2004-05 there was a Congress-JDS coalition government in the state and Siddaramaiah was the Deputy CM.

How has this matter come to light?

The MUDA land scam was exposed by RTI activist Kurubara Shanthakumar. On July 5, 2024, Kurubara wrote a letter to the Governor. The letter said, "More than 6,000 sites have been allotted under the 50:50 scheme in the last four years."

The Deputy Commissioner of Mysore wrote 17 letters to the Mysore Urban Development Authority between 8 February 2023 and 9 November 2023. When there was no hearing here, on November 27, the Deputy Commissioner wrote a letter to the Urban Development Authority of the Government of Karnataka to conduct an inquiry into the 50:50 ratio scam and against the MUDA Commissioner. Despite this, the MUDA Commissioner allotted thousands of sites.

What did Siddaramaiah say on the High Court's decision?

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that he will face the investigation. If such an investigation is allowed under the law, he will also consult experts. Earlier, he had said that the BJP people have nothing to do except making allegations.

MUDA acquired our land and built a park and gave us a plot as compensation. The compensation land was given in 2021 during the BJP's tenure.

After the decision, BJP demanded resignation

BJP MP and spokesperson Sambit Patra said, "This is a scam of Rs 3 to 4 thousand crores. Siddaramaiah's family is involved in this. Congress is silent on this. Thank God the Governor has ordered an investigation, thank him.

After the High Court's decision, the BJP has demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. BJP spokesperson Shahzad Poonawala said that after the High Court's decision, the Congress party should tell us whether it is right for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to continue in his post? Siddaramaiah should step down.

Who is Siddaramaiah?

Siddaramaiah is currently the Chief Minister of Karnataka. Born on 12 August 1948, Siddaramaiah did his BSc from Mysore University and then studied law from the same university. He was a lawyer before joining politics.

Siddaramaiah belongs to the Kurba community of Karnataka. This is the third largest community in terms of population in the state.

Political journey of Siddaramaiah

In 1983, he reached the Assembly for the first time by winning the election from Chamundeshwari seat on the ticket of Bharatiya Lok Dal.

In 1992, Siddaramaiah was made the general secretary of the Janata Dal.

 In 1994, he was the Finance Minister in the Janata Dal government led by Deve Gowda.

Worked as Deputy Chief Minister in 1996.

In 1999, Siddaramaiah was dismissed from the Cabinet.

Then he joined Janata Dal (Secular) i.e. JDS.

He again became Deputy Chief Minister from 2004 to 2005 in the coalition government of Congress and JD(S).

He was expelled from the JD(S) in 2005 following differences with Deve Gowda.

In 2006, Siddaramaiah joined the Congress.

Siddaramaiah took oath as Chief Minister in 2013. He became the first Chief Minister in 40 years to complete a full five-year term and the second in Karnataka's history after Devaraj Urs.

 Siddaramaiah became the Chief Minister of Karnataka again in 2023.

 Siddaramaiah is the leader who has presented the state budget 13 times, which is a record.