MUDA case: High Court adjourns hearing on CM Siddaramaiah’s appeal to second week of November
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has adjourned to the second week of November the hearing on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s appeal challenging the single-judge bench order upholding the Governor’s sanction for an investigation against him in the MUDA case.
A division bench comprising Justice Anu Shivaraman and Justice K. Rajesh Rai took up on Thursday both Siddaramaiah’s appeal and a separate appeal filed by J. Devaraju, the original owner of the disputed land. Devaraju has objected that despite having no connection to the case, he has been dragged into it and is now forced to face both civil and criminal proceedings due to strong observations made by the single judge.
Appearing for the state government, Advocate General K. Shashikiran Shetty submitted that the appeals need to be heard in detail. The bench observed that on the date of hearing, it would avoid listing other matters and suggested an early schedule in the first week of November. However, senior counsel Prof. Ravivarma Kumar requested that the hearing be fixed for the second week of November, which the bench accepted.
The case relates to alleged irregularities in land allotments by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA). On September 24, 2024, a single-judge bench of the High Court had upheld the Governor’s order granting sanction to investigate Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in connection with the allegations. Challenging this decision, Siddaramaiah approached the division bench with an appeal.
Meanwhile, J. Devaraju, the original landowner, has also filed a separate appeal, contending that the single-judge bench’s harsh remarks have unfairly implicated him in both civil and criminal cases despite his limited role.
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West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee moves SC against SIR
New Delhi (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in the state, sources said on Sunday.
The petition names the Election Commission (EC) and the chief electoral officer of West Bengal as respondents. It was filed before the apex court on January 28, the sources said.
Banerjee arrived in Delhi on Sunday. She is scheduled to meet Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar at 4 pm on Monday to discuss the ongoing SIR exercise in West Bengal. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo would be accompanied by a delegation of party leaders.
She is also likely to meet party MPs in the Parliament House on Monday.
Talking to reporters at the Kolkata airport before leaving for the national capital, Banerjee claimed that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre is resorting to the SIR exercise because it is certain of its imminent defeat in the West Bengal Assembly polls, due in a few months, and said the saffron party should contest the election politically and democratically.
The West Bengal chief minister has written several letters to the CEC, raising concerns over the conduct of the exercise.
In her most recent letter to the CEC on January 31, she alleged that the methodology and approach of the exercise went beyond the provisions of the Representation of the People Act and the relevant rules, causing "immense inconvenience and agony" to citizens.
Earlier, TMC leaders, including Rajya Sabha MPs Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen, had moved the apex court, challenging certain aspects of how the SIR is being carried out in West Bengal.
