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.
"The issuance of show cause notice is related to the application given by Abraham. The Governor has been requested to take a decision in this regard. Besides, the show cause notice has not been mentioned in relation to the petition given by two others," Singhvi told the bench.
"The governor issued a show cause notice on the day Abraham filed the complaint. However, around 12 petitions seeking permission for prosecution are pending before the governor. Against this background, permission for prosecution against the chief minister has a political motive," he explained.
The bench headed by Justice M. Nagaprasanna heard the petition filed by Siddaramaiah and gave an order adjourning it to August 29.
On the other hand, the leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal (Secular) lashed out at CM Siddaramaiah, saying that if he believes in constitution democracy, then he should resign. Former CM DV Sadananda Gowda, addressing the protest programme held by BJP-JDS near the Gandhi statue of Vidhana Soudha today, said that Siddaramaiah's thirst for power and desire for chair is evident from this.
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