Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah gets interim relief from the Karnataka High Court after challenged the governor’s decision to allow his prosecution in the alleged Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam.
The Karnataka High Court had directed the trial court to take no immediate action against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah following Governor Thawaar Chand Gehlot’s sanction to prosecute the Congress leader in the alleged Mysore Urban Development Authority, or MUDA, land scam case. The interim relief will be in effect till August 29, when the court will hear this case next.
The High Court stated that the trial court shall not take any action based on the Governor’s sanction against Siddaramaiah in the MUDA case, while the CM’s petition is ongoing in the HC, and that the proceedings shall be deferred till the next date of hearing before the High Court.
Hours after filing a plea before the Karnataka High Court challenging the Governor’s decision, Siddaramaiah told reporters that he had faith in the judiciary and had complete confidence in getting relief from the court. “I have faith in the judiciary. I have total confidence of getting relief from court because I have not committed any wrong,” he added.
The political tug-of-war between the Congress and the BJP in Karnataka has escalated, following Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot, who is a former BJP MP, gave the green light for Siddaramaiah’s prosecution on 17 August, a move that the chief minister has decried as “politically motivated”.
The state cabinet responded by calling the decision a “gross misuse of the Constitutional office” and urged the governor to withdraw the sanction. The ruling Congress party has vowed to take on the BJP over what it sees as a “politically charged” attempt to undermine the state government.
The MUDA scam has become the latest flashpoint in Karnataka politics, rife with a tug of war between the ruling Congress and the recently unseated BJP. As the matter heads to court, the Congress has signalled its readiness to fight back, framing the issue as part of a larger pattern of BJP-led central interference in states governed by opposition parties.