Editor's Pick | Temporary relief to Siddaramaiah in MUDA case

Offering a temporary reprieve to Karnataka Chief Minister Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the Karnataka High Court on Monday (August 19.2024) ordered a Bengaluru special court to defer further proceedings on complaints pertaining to alleged irregularities in the allotment of sites by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) till August 29. Learn more about the MUDA scam here. The High Court directed that the special court would not precipitate a complaint related to the sanctions granted by the Governor against Mr. Siddaramaiah till further orders, in an interim order passed by Justice M. Nagaprasanna. In his petition, the Chief Minister questioned the legality of the sanction granted by the Governor permitting investigation against him under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act and prosecution under Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. The Special Court of Sessions for criminal cases against former and present MPs and MLAs was scheduled to pass an order on whether to entertain one of the two complaints filed against Mr. Siddaramaiah on August 20. Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot granted sanction on August 17 on the applications filed by Bengaluru-based social activists Pradeep Kumar S.P. and T.J. Abraham, and Mysuru-based Snehamayi Krishna. “If the concerned special court passes any order on August 20, it would undoubtedly frustrate the subject proceedings on the petition. Therefore, I deem it appropriate to direct the concerned special court to defer the proceedings and direct no precipitate action be taken pursuant to the sanction, till the next date of hearing,” Justice Nagaprasanna wrote in his order. Earlier, appearing for Mr. Siddaramaiah, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi argued that the Governor’s decision was arbitrary and suffered from non-application of mind, since he did not provide reasons for differing with the Cabinet’s view on the matter. The Cabinet had advised the Governor to reject the application seeking grant of sanction. Mr. Siddaramaiah’s petition said that the Governor had failed to consider the response submitted by the Chief Secretary on July 27, and by the Cabinet, on August 1, which highlighted numerous factual and legal infirmities in the application of sanction filed by Mr. Abraham. Mr. Singhvi also contended that sanction under Section 17A of the PC Act could only be given to a police officer for investigation and argued that the Governor ought not to have granted sanction based entirely on an application made by a private person with vested interests. He further contended that the Governor’s selective urgency in entertaining Mr. Abraham’s application reflected clear bias as several other applications for grant of sanction, including those involving high-profile individuals like Janardhan Reddy, Shahikala Jolle and Basavaraj Bommai [all from the BJP], were pending before the Governor for a long period. However, appearing for the Governor, Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, in a brief submission, clarified to the High Court that “no application is pending, as of today, on the table of the Governor, awaiting such sanction”. Mr. Mehta also said the Governor only granted permission to investigate the offence and requested the court not to pass any order interdicting the grant of sanction to investigate or prosecute at this stage. Further hearing of the petition has been adjourned till August 29. The Hindu’s Editorials To abide or not: On the Karnataka case and corruption charges ​Good, not ugly: On the 70th National Film Awards The Hindu’s Daily Quiz The three-member Commission of Inquiry set up by the Centre to look into the possibility of granting Scheduled Caste status to Dalit Christians and Muslims is headed by which retired CJI? Vishweshwar Nath Khare K.G. Balakrishnan P. Sathasivam S. Rajendra Babu To know the answer and to play the full qiuiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 20 August 2024 [The Hindu logo] [EP Logo] Editor's Pick 20 August 2024 In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [View in browser]( [More newsletters]( Temporary relief to Siddaramaiah in MUDA case Offering a temporary reprieve to Karnataka Chief Minister Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the Karnataka High Court on Monday (August 19.2024) [ordered a Bengaluru special court]( to defer further proceedings on complaints pertaining to alleged irregularities in the allotment of sites by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) till August 29. [Learn more about the MUDA scam here]( The High Court directed that the special court would not precipitate a complaint related to the sanctions granted by the Governor against Mr. Siddaramaiah till further orders, in an interim order passed by Justice M. Nagaprasanna. In his petition, the Chief Minister questioned the legality of the sanction granted by the Governor permitting investigation against him under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act and prosecution under Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. The Special Court of Sessions for criminal cases against former and present MPs and MLAs was scheduled to pass an order on whether to entertain one of the two complaints filed against Mr. Siddaramaiah on August 20. Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot granted sanction on August 17 on the applications filed by Bengaluru-based social activists Pradeep Kumar S.P. and T.J. Abraham, and Mysuru-based Snehamayi Krishna. “If the concerned special court passes any order on August 20, it would undoubtedly frustrate the subject proceedings on the petition. Therefore, I deem it appropriate to direct the concerned special court to defer the proceedings and direct no precipitate action be taken pursuant to the sanction, till the next date of hearing,” Justice Nagaprasanna wrote in his order. Earlier, appearing for Mr. Siddaramaiah, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi argued that the Governor’s decision was arbitrary and suffered from non-application of mind, since he did not provide reasons for differing with the Cabinet’s view on the matter. The Cabinet had advised the Governor to reject the application seeking grant of sanction. Mr. Siddaramaiah’s petition said that the Governor had failed to consider the response submitted by the Chief Secretary on July 27, and by the Cabinet, on August 1, which highlighted numerous factual and legal infirmities in the application of sanction filed by Mr. Abraham. Mr. Singhvi also contended that sanction under Section 17A of the PC Act could only be given to a police officer for investigation and argued that the Governor ought not to have granted sanction based entirely on an application made by a private person with vested interests. He further contended that the Governor’s selective urgency in entertaining Mr. Abraham’s application reflected clear bias as several other applications for grant of sanction, including those involving high-profile individuals like Janardhan Reddy, Shahikala Jolle and Basavaraj Bommai [all from the BJP], were pending before the Governor for a long period. However, appearing for the Governor, Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, in a brief submission, clarified to the High Court that “no application is pending, as of today, on the table of the Governor, awaiting such sanction”. Mr. Mehta also said the Governor only granted permission to investigate the offence and requested the court not to pass any order interdicting the grant of sanction to investigate or prosecute at this stage. Further hearing of the petition has been adjourned till August 29. The Hindu’s Editorials [Arrow][To abide or not: On the Karnataka case and corruption charges]( [Arrow][​Good, not ugly: On the 70th National Film Awards]( The Hindu’s Daily Quiz The three-member Commission of Inquiry set up by the Centre to look into the possibility of granting Scheduled Caste status to Dalit Christians and Muslims is headed by which retired CJI? - Vishweshwar Nath Khare - K.G. Balakrishnan - P. Sathasivam - S. Rajendra Babu To know the answer and to play the full qiuiz, [click here](. 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