Bengaluru: The hearing on a petition filed by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday challenging the State Governor's decision to allow his prosecution for alleged abuse of power and corruption related to the allotment of replacement plots to his family members in the Mysore Urban Development Authority (Muda) was held today in the High Court.
The court granted relief to CM Siddaramaiah till August 29. The court opined that there is no room for immediate investigation against the Chief Minister. A bench of Justice M. Nagaprasanna heard the petition filed by Siddaramaiah. Senior Supreme Court advocate Abhishek Manu Sanghvi argued on behalf of the CM.
"Giving permission for prosecution against Siddaramaiah is against the constitutional principles. Statutory orders have been violated. The Governor has rejected the advice of the Cabinet. He has not explained the reason why the permission was given. Therefore, this permission is politically motivated. It is also intended to destabilize the state government," he argued.
"The governor should abide by the decision of the cabinet. However, in a small two-page order, he has taken a decision to allow the prosecution. By doing so, he has tried to destabilize the government elected by the people," Singhvi said.
The bench questioned whether the chief minister has no role in the case. To this, Singhvi said, "The process of redistribution of land has taken place in the previous government. No documents have been found against Siddaramaiah. There is no role of Siddaramaiah. Also, prosecution under Section 218 of the BNSS has been permitted. However, if the prosecution is to be permitted under this section, it should include specific provisions," he said.