BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday ordered notice to chief minister Siddaramaiah, his wife Parvathy, and others in response to a petition filed by Snehamayi Krishna, the social activist -complainant , in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) alternative sites allotment case. The petitioner is seeking a direction for entrusting the matter to a CBI investigation.
Justice M Nagaprasanna also ordered notice to both the state and central govt, the Lokayukta police, who are presently investigating the case, while adjourning the hearing. The Lokayukta police were told to submit the details of the ongoing investigation by the next date of hearing.
Earlier, Senior Advocate KG Raghavan, appearing on behalf of Snehamayi Krishna, argued that though the Lokayukta police were directed to investigate, the same is not being done in a manner to restore public confidence. According to the petitioner, Siddaramaiah, currently Chief Minister of Karnataka, wields immense power and influence over the state departments, especially the state investigating agencies such as the police authorities and the Karnataka Lokayukta police.
"Such being the case, any investigation undertaken by either of the agencies into the allegations made against the Chief Minister would not be an impartial investigation," Snehamayi Krishna added. The Chief Minister has openly made several statements, stating that the entire political party, his party high command, the state govt, cabinet, and the entire system are supporting him in this case, and the same is apparent from several incidents and media reports.
The Supreme Court in a catena of decisions has held that institutional integrity is a paramount consideration in respect of constitutional functionaries. Such being the case, the matter needs to be probed by independent investigation agencies. It is necessary to ensure that the investigation should not only be fair but should also be seen to be fair, in order to instill confidence in the minds of complainants and also the people of the state of Karnataka, the petitioner further stated while seeking a direction to the CBI to probe the case wherein he is the complainant.