Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has postponed to the second week of November the hearing on appeals filed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and landowner J. Devaraju challenging a single-judge order that upheld the Governor’s sanction for investigation in the controversial MUDA land scam case.
A division bench comprising Justice Anu Sivaraman and Justice K. Rajesh Rai heard the matter on Thursday. The appeals question the single-judge order of September 24, 2024, which had validated the Governor’s directive permitting an inquiry against the Chief Minister in connection with the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) alleged illegal site allocation scam.
Arguments in Court
Appearing for the state government, Advocate General K. Shashikiran Shetty told the court that the appeals require a full-fledged final hearing.
The bench asked if the matter could be taken up in the first week of November, since no additional petitions would be listed on that date. However, senior counsel Prof. Ravivarma Kumar requested that the case be scheduled in the second week of November, which the court accepted.
Background of the Case
The MUDA case involves alleged illegal site allocations and land irregularities. Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot had issued an order granting sanction to investigate CM Siddaramaiah’s role, which was subsequently upheld by a single-judge bench of the High Court.
Challenging this, the Chief Minister filed an appeal before the division bench. Additionally, original landowner J. Devaraju also filed a separate appeal, claiming that he was unnecessarily dragged into the case and that adverse observations made by the single-judge order had subjected him to potential civil and criminal proceedings.
The High Court has now listed both appeals for detailed hearing in the second week of November 2025.
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