Kapil Sibal questions governors authority in granting sanctions for prosecution in MUDA scam

New Delhi [India], September 25 (ANI): In response to the Karnataka High Court's dismissal of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's petition challenging the Governor's sanction for his prosecution in an alleged MUDA scam, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal voiced strong concerns about the legal implications.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal stated, "It is nowhere written in the Constitution that the Governor can give sanctions for prosecution. Hence, the Supreme Court has clarified that if there is any case against the Chief Minister, the Governor is the competent authority to grant sanction because a cabinet belongs to the Chief Minister himself, but "when" a person can be prosecuted and what process needs to be followed is not written in the constitution.".

He emphasized the need for a proper investigative process, saying, "How can the Governor decide, without any magisterial inquiry, that the allegations against the accused are true? In cases of private complaints, it is the magistrate who decides if any rule has been broken. In this situation, without the magistrate's input, can the Governor determine if a criminal offense has taken place?"

Sibal further argued that the Governor has no constitutional right to act as a judge and decide whether a criminal offense has occurred.

"An investigation should be conducted first, and only then should sanctions be granted," he said.

Earlier, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also condemned the Governor's decision to grant permission for his prosecution in connection with the alleged Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam, by stating that the Governor is acting at the behest of the BJP and trying to overthrow the elected government in the state.

"The Governor's permission for prosecution against me is against the Constitution. The Governor is supposed to act as a representative of the Constitution, but he is behaving like a representative of the Central Government and the BJP," said Siddaramaiah.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday dismissed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's petition challenging the approval given by Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot for conducting an investigation against him in the alleged illegalities in Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) allotting sites to his wife.

In his judgement, the single judge bench of Justice Nagaprasanna said that the order of sanction for prosecution does not suffer from non-application of mind by the Governor.

It is alleged that MUDA illegally allotted 14 sites to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife in the prime location of Mysuru city. The High Court, in its interim order passed on August 19, had granted a temporary relief to Siddaramaiah by directing a special court in Bengaluru to defer further proceedings and not to take any precipitative action pursuant to the sanction granted by the Governor. (ANI)