Petitioner to approach SC as High Court rejected plea seeking transfer of MUDA case to CBI
Mysuru, Feb 7 (PTI): With the Karnataka High Court dismissing the petition seeking a direction to transfer the MUDA case probe to the CBI, activist Snehamayi Krishna, who filed the case, stated on Friday that he would challenge the ruling in the Supreme Court.
Siddaramaiah is facing allegations of illegalities in Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) allotting 14 sites to his wife Parvathi B M in upmarket area, in lieu of the land it acquired from her.
"It is a setback in my fight, but there is no question of me getting disturbed or going back from my fight. We will continue our fight. We will file an appeal in the Supreme Court and continue our efforts towards handing over the case to CBI," Krishna said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "Considering the grounds on which the High Court has rejected the petition, we will discuss with our lawyers as to what answer should be given to it along with the necessary documents, we will challenge this verdict in the supreme court, and seek a CBI probe."
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"We tried to convince the high court that the Lokayukta police was not conducting an impartial probe against the accused, but we will get to know as to on what grounds the High Court has given the order, based on that we will make our efforts to get the case handed over to CBI for probe," he added.
In his petition, Snehamayi Krishna had contended that an impartial investigation is not possible since Siddaramaiah, being the Chief Minister, wields immense power and influence over the state departments, especially the state investigating agencies such as the police authorities and the Karnataka Lokayukta police.
Siddaramaiah, his wife, brother-in-law B M Mallikarjun Swamy, Devaraju -- from whom Swamy had purchased a land and gifted it to Parvathi -- and others have been named in the FIR registered by the Lokayukta police establishment, located in Mysuru on September 27, following the order of the Special Court that exclusively deals with criminal cases related to former and elected MPs/MLAs.
Stating that the high court might have given the verdict considering that the probe is on the right track, based on the Lokayukta reports, Krishna said, after getting the order, based on the faults in it, an appeal will be filed in the Supreme Court immediately.
There are suspicions about the Lokayukta probe being one-sided and there is evidence for it, he said.
Noting that the court order is only regarding the investigating agency, the activist said, he has all the evidence for the allegations he has made and he will bring it to the notice of the supreme court.
"It is not possible for the accused to escape for any reason and this order will have no impact on the case. It is not a big set back, it is a minor set back," he added.
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FM Sitharaman launches 'VijAIpatha' labs in govt schools in Karnataka
Hampi (PTI): Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday launched Cyient AI Labs (CyAILS) -- 'VijAIpatha', aimed at democratising access to Artificial Intelligence, STEM and Robotics education in government schools here.
In a series of posts on 'X', the minister's office shared pictures of the initiative launched at a girl's government school in Hosapete taluk and said that under the pilot phase, five world-class AI, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and Robotics laboratories are being established in government schools.
Each lab will be equipped with high-performance computers, AI-ready software, robotics kits, IoT devices, sensors and secure broadband connectivity.
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"Aligned with NEP 2020, Digital India and Hon'ble Prime Minister @narendramodi's mission of Viksit Bharat 2047, the programme integrates CBSE's AI curriculum and strengthens technology-enabled learning in public education," it said.
Focusing on rural and semi-urban India, the initiative introduces future technologies at the school level, helping build early digital fluency, computational thinking and innovation capacity among students, the minister's office said.
"Benefiting over 2,000 students and training more than 200 teachers, 'VijAIpatha' is a scalable CSR model fostering innovation, career readiness and grassroots digital empowerment," it added.
According to the office, the initiative has been designed as a scalable, replicable and sustainable model that can be adopted across districts and states in collaboration with government education departments, positioning it as a benchmark CSR model for a national AI education rollout.
