HC upholds Guv's nod to probe Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: Ina setback to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday dismissed his petition challenging Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot's approval for a probe against him in the MUDA land allotment case, saying the gubernatorial order nowhere "suffers from want of application of mind".

The Karnataka CM had challenged the legality of Gehlot's sanction for the investigation against him in the alleged irregularities in the allotment of 14 sites to his wife by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) in a prime locality. Immediately after the HC verdict, the BJP demanded Siddaramaiah's resignation, to which the state chief minister hit back and accused the Narendra Modi-led NDA government of indulging in "vendetta" politics against opposition-ruled state governments, including Karnataka.

The CM also rejected the opposition's demand for his resignation. The single judge bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna said in normal circumstances, a governor has to act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers under Article 163 of the Constitution of India, "but (the Governor) can take independent decisions in exceptional circumstances, and the present case projects one such exception" and dismissed Siddaramaiah's petition.

Asserting that the gubernatorial order nowhere "suffers from want of application of mind", the Judge said, "It is not a case of not even a semblance of application of mind by the Governor, but abundance of application of mind."

"No fault can be found with the Governor exercising the independent discretion to pass the impugned order; it would suffice if the reasons are recorded in the file of the decision-making authority, particularly of the high office, and those reasons succinctly form part of the impugned order. A caveat reason must be in the file. Reasons for the first time cannot be brought before the constitutional court by way of objections," he added.

Reacting to the verdict, senior BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar said: "The high court has validated the action of the governor. The BJP demands that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah tender his resignation and make way for a free and independent investigation into the allegations of shameful corruption."

On his part, Siddaramaiah alleged that the entire controversy was the opposition's "conspiracy" against him and his government, and said he would face them politically. "Why should I resign? Has (H D) Kumaraswamy (Union Minister) resigned? He is on bail, ask him....it is only said that inquiry needs to be done. At the inquiry stage itself, resignation is sought. I will answer them...We will face them politically because it is a conspiracy," Siddaramaiah said.

Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar too said there is no question of Siddaramaiah resigning, as he alleged that there was a "big conspiracy" against the CM.