The Karnataka High Court today ordered the State Lokayukta to provide detailed findings from its investigation into the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land allocation scandal that implicates Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The directive was issued by Justice M Nagaprasanna following a plea for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the matter.
Activist Snehamayi Krishna filed the petition citing concerns over the Lokayukta’s capacity to conduct an unbiased investigation due to its ties with the state government. Represented by Senior Advocate KG Raghavan, the petitioner argued that relying solely on the Lokayukta could compromise public trust in the investigative process. The court has scheduled further hearings for November 26 to examine these issues more closely.
The scandal came to the forefront following a series of legal challenges and investigations. In September, the court upheld the Governor’s approval to initiate corruption charges against Siddaramaiah concerning the questionable allotment of MUDA land to his wife, Parvathi. This led to the registration of an FIR against the Chief Minister and three others on charges of corruption, cheating, and forgery related to improper land distribution by MUDA.