K’taka HC gives nod to ED to conduct probe in MUDA land scam case
02-04-2025 ¦
02-04-2025 IST
Bengaluru: A division bench of the High Court has on Wednesday given a green signal to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to probe in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land scam case.
The bench directed the ED to investigate other accused based on the statement of former MUDA Commissioner D.B. Natesh.
ED involvement in the MUDA case is likely to pose further trouble for CM Siddaramaiah, who has been named as accused No. 1 (A1), his wife Parvati (accused No. 2), and others in the case.
Earlier, a single-judge bench had dismissed a petition filed by Natesh seeking to quash the ED summons. He later appealed to the division bench challenging this decision.
The division bench, comprising Chief Justice N.V. Anjaria and Justice K.V. Aravind refused to stay the single-judge bench’s order, allowing the ED probe to continue based on Natesh’s statement.
Meanwhile, the ED has filed a petition in the Special Court for people’s representatives, seeking the rejection of the investigation report submitted by the Lokayukta police in the MUDA case.
In its eight-page complaint submitted on Tuesday, the ED asserted that there is sufficient evidence linking CM Siddaramaiah and his family to the alleged scam. The agency also accused the Lokayukta of making errors in its investigation while refusing to acknowledge them, urging the court to dismiss its report.