ED Probes Siddaramaiah’s Wife, Minister; HC Stays Summons in Muda Investigation

BENGALURU: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued summons on Monday to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s spouse, B M Parvathi, and Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh for inquiries related to the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land allotment case. This comes as the High Court’s Dharwad bench has placed an interim stay on the central agency’s activities until February 10.
Justice M Nagaprasanna also set aside the court’s judgment on a demand to shift the investigation regarding the contentious land-swap arrangement to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). This plea was lodged by one of the alleged whistleblowers, Snehamayi Krishna.
Parvathi has been accused of reaping benefits from an allegedly illegal land allotment located in the heart of Mysuru, valued at approximately Rs 56 crore, purportedly in return for another piece of land that MUDA acquired from the Chief Minister’s wife outside the city.
Justice Nagaprasanna remarked that permitting the ED summons could disrupt the ongoing proceedings regarding the probe-transfer request. The judge also noted that a co-ordinate bench had annulled a similar notice previously issued to former MUDA Managing Director Natesh, who is not an accused in this case.
“Since this court is currently engaged in the entire proceedings and has prolonged the time for the Lokayukta police to submit its report until the announcement of the order, the endorsement of the summonses issued by the ED would undoubtedly thwart the proceedings,” the judge articulated.
The legal saga intensified when senior lawyer Sandesh Chouta, representing Parvathi, contended that the ED summons should be annulled, similar to the one served on the MUDA MD.
Counsel C V Nagesh, who represented Suresh, questioned the rationale for the summons directed at the minister given he is not an accused. He also informed the court about Suresh’s current preoccupation with his son’s wedding.
Additional Solicitor General Aravind Kamath, representing the ED, asserted that since Parvathi is an accused in the case, the agency is authorized to summon her under Section 50(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for evidence collection. He maintained that recording her statement would not interfere with the ongoing court proceedings. For Siddaramaiah, who has recently mitigated calls for a change in chief minister from his deputy D K Shivakumar’s supporters, the court granting temporary relief to his wife and loyalist Suresh caps off a tumultuous couple of weeks, heightened by renewed efforts for him to step aside.