Court rejects plea seeking change of MUDA scam probe officer
Grants two months for Lokayukta to finish investigation
Bengaluru: The special court for people’s representatives has rejected an interim petition filed by social activist Snehamayi Krishna, who sought the transfer of Lokayukta Police DySP Udesh, the investigating officer in the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment scam involving Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s family.
The court, presided over by Judge Santosh Gajanan Bhatt, has directed the Lokayukta police to complete the ongoing investigation within two months. However, the court has not issued any order regarding the protest petition filed by Snehamayi Krishna challenging the “B-report” submitted earlier by the Lokayukta police, which had given a clean chit to Siddaramaiah, his wife B.M. Parvathi, his relative B.M. Mallikarjun, and landowner J. Devaraj.
In her petition, Snehamayi Krishna had alleged that investigating officer Udesh had shown bias in the probe and sought his removal. She had also requested that separate FIRs be registered for each survey number involved in the alleged irregularities, instead of a single FIR. The court, however, dismissed these requests.
The case pertains to the alleged illegal allotment of 14 residential sites by MUDA to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife under a “land exchange” scheme, which opposition leaders and activists claim involved serious procedural violations and misuse of power. Earlier, on August 8, 2024, Snehamayi Krishna had filed a complaint before the special court seeking a probe by an independent or special investigation team against Siddaramaiah, his wife, his brother-in-law Mallikarjun, and others. Following the complaint, the Governor had granted sanction for investigation against the Chief Minister and co-accused.
Siddaramaiah had challenged the Governor’s order in the Karnataka High Court, but the court upheld the Governor’s decision, paving the way for the special court to direct the Lokayukta police to register an FIR. Consequently, the Lokayukta registered the FIR on September 27, 2024, and after completing preliminary inquiries, submitted a B-report in February 2025, absolving Siddaramaiah and others of wrongdoing. Unhappy with the findings, Snehamayi Krishna filed a protest petition and a plea for change of the investigating officer, both of which have now been rejected.
The court’s latest directive gives the Lokayukta two more months to wrap up the investigation and submit its final report.
