‘Permission given by HC for probe, govt will not shy away from it’: Minister HK Patil

BENGALURU: After the Karnataka High Court dismissed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s petition challenging Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot’s approval for conducting an investigation into the alleged MUDA scam, state ministers said on Tuesday that they will not shy away from conducting a probe, and, if there is any wrongdoing, it will come under the preliminary investigation.

Law Minister H K Patil said that the permission has been given by the high court for investigation. “The verdict is very clear. The permission for prosecution was rejected and permission has been given by the high court for investigation. The government will not shy away from conducting a probe”, he said.

#WATCH | Karnataka High Court dismissed a petition by CM Siddaramaiah challenging Governor’s sanction for his prosecution in the alleged MUDA scam

HK Patil, Karnataka Minister says, ” The verdict is very clear. The permission for prosecution was rejected and permission has been… pic.twitter.com/7oA6Wi4L4H

— ANI (@ANI) September 24, 2024

Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said that the High Court has said that a preliminary investigation can proceed, so let it take place. “If there is any wrongdoing, it will come out in the preliminary investigation. The high court has specifically set aside the permission for prosecution that was illegally given by the governor”, he said.

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 judgment, 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.

However, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Tuesday that he is not scared of the BJP and JD(S) conspiracy and will discuss with legal experts & ministers how to fight this.

“They might have succeeded in the past, but not this time. It is not a prosecution. I will discuss with legal experts & ministers how to fight this, and take a further call. We will not be scared of BJP and JD(S) conspiracy, as well as that of the Governor’s office. People have blessed us. I have their blessing. I also have the high command and party leaders backing me”, he said. (ANI)