BENGALURU: In a legal setback for Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the Karnataka High Court (HC) today dismissed his petition challenging Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot's approval for an investigation against him in a controversial site allotment case.

The case revolves around allegations that the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) allotted 14 prime housing sites to Siddaramaiah's wife, BM Parvathi, in exchange for a 3.16-acre plot of land. This transaction allegedly resulted in a loss of Rs 55.80 crore to the state.

Governor Gehlot had sanctioned proceedings against Siddaramaiah under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, on August 16, 2024. Siddaramaiah challenged this decision, contending that the order sanctioning his prosecution is illegal since the Governor could not make such a recommendation without state approval; however, the HC today upheld the Governor's approval, allowing the investigation to proceed.

A bench of Justice M. Nagaprasanna, while dismissing the petition, said, "There is no fault in the Governor's actions. The facts narrated need investigation. The petition is dismissed," and noted that the Governor 'did apply his mind in abundance' and that the order of sanctioning prosecution 'does not suffer from non-application of mind.' The court also subsequently dismissed a plea by senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the Chief Minister, to stay its order for two weeks.

The HC order means that now the lower court can initiate legal proceedings against the Chief Minister and file a first information report and begin its probe into Siddaramaiah's MUDA land allotment case.

The court's decision has sparked political reactions, with the opposition led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanding Siddaramaiah's resignation. BJP's state unit chief BY Vijayendra said Siddaramaiah should "resign immediately, without further delay." Senior BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar also demanded Siddaramaiah's immediate resignation and called for clarification from Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha.

The Congress party is however standing firm with the Chief Minister and has said that the verdict is not a setback since they will appeal against it. Deputy CM DK Shivakumar alleged that the whole case was 'a big conspiracy against Congress party leaders.' Commenting on today's HC order, he told reporters, "I am telling you again, there is no setback for the Chief Minister; it is a big conspiracy against our leaders, and we will fight it out. We respect the legal system; we will get justice."