The Governor of a State has no power to sanction prosecution against the Chief Minister (CM), the Karnataka government told the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday while opposing the prosecution of CM Siddaramaiah in the MUDA scam. .The submission was made on behalf of the State by Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal before a Division Bench of Chief Justice NV Anjaria and Justice KV Aravind.Siddaramaiah is being prosecuted after Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot granted sanction for the same."I am saying that in this case, the issue of sanctioning authority is a much larger constitutional issue. The Governor does not have the authority to approve prosecution of a Chief Minister ...I am not supporting A or B but this (sanction of prosecution against CM by Governor) just cannot be done. If you start prosecuting Chief Ministers and Ministers in this manner, then there will be utter chaos," Sibal argued. .After hearing preliminary submissions, the Division Bench today issued notice on CM Siddaramaiah's appeal against a single-judge's decision to uphold the grant of sanction by the Governor to prosecute him (Siddaramaiah) in the case.The Court posted the matter for further hearing hearing on January 25, 2025..The case concerns allegations of corruption in the grant of land by the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) to Siddaramaiah's BM wife, Parvathi.The Karnataka Governor on July 26 granted sanction to prosecute CM Siddaramaiah in the case following private complaints made by activists TJ Abraham, Snehamai Krishna and Pradeep Kumar SP.The complainants have claimed that MUDA granted a highly inflated compensation of 14 parcels of land to the CM's wife, Parvathi in exchange for undertaking development on 3 acres of land owned by her. These 3 acres were 'gifted' to Parvathi by her brother, Mallikarjuna Swamy (Siddaramaiah's brother-in-law). Swamy, in turn had acquired the land earlier in 2004 from one, Devaraju..80 year-old landowner cries foul over being dragged into 'political slugfest'Interestingly, Devaraju (the original landowner) has now complained to the Court that he has been unnecessarily dragged into a political slugfest, thanks to recent developments in the MUDA scam case.Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave represented Devaraju today and urged the Division Bench to hear him first saying that although he wasn't a party to the matter, he has now been caught in the cross fire.Dave pointed out that a single-judge has now remarked that Devaraju appeared to be party to fraud and should face prosecution."I am dragged at the age of 80 in the slugfest! I have nothing to do with politics. I asked my client, whether he voted for BJP or Congress? He said, neither - I voted for Janata Dal (JD(S))! So milord, why should I suffer because of all this? ... My life and liberty is at stake!" Dave argued.The Court assured that it would hear Devaraju's counsel as well in the matter."You are like the lotus in the murky water that stays clean, doesn't touch the water. We'll treat you like that. We'll keep you separate," Chief Justice Anjaria told him..Dave also urged the High Court to issue a stay on criminal proceedings as far as Devaraju is concerned."I need the protection because I don't want to face the CBI and criminal courts for having sold my land years ago. Why should I be held responsible?" he added.He pointed out that another plea has already been filed now for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the MUDA scam, which is scheduled for hearing before a single-judge on December 10.The Court, however, declined to order any stay."We don't want to make any comments as it will colour the single judge's mind," the Bench explained..Meanwhile, Senior Counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi appeared for Siddaramaiah and reiterated that the Governor erred in granting sanction to prosecute the Chief Minister in this case. "First, Section 17A (of the Prevention of Corruption Act) has been completely violated. The requirement that there had to be a filter of a police officer has been violated. Here, the private complainant has gone straight to the Governor. The second is that the Governor is always bound by the advice of the council of ministers. The Governor can only interfere if there is manifest illegality in the council's advice," Singhvi said. .Senior Advocate KG Raghavan appeared for one of the private parties on whose complaint the Governor had sanctioned Siddaramaiah's prosecution in the MUDA case. Senior advocate Maninder Singh appeared for another complainant, Snehamayi Krishna..[Read Live Coverage]
