Bengaluru, March 5 Responding to the development of filing an appeal writ petition against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and others in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam, the Legal Advisor to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, legislator C.S. Ponnanna on Wednesday said the petitioner has the right to appeal in the case and they will fight it legally.
Speaking to media here, Ponnanna said, “The law provides in terms of appeal or revision. The petitioner in the MUDA scam is entitled to appeal, subject to its maintainability. We have always maintained that we fully respect the due process of law and bow down to the decisions and judgments made by the courts of law. If the petitioner is adopting due process, no one can object, and we don’t object to it.”
Ponnanna said, “But the whole issue is, they are creating a case for politicising and political gains, which is condemnable. We criticise it. The petitioner makes an allegation that the Lokayukta police are colluding. He is the one who went to the Lokayukta and sought an investigation by the Lokayukta police. Overseen by the judge of the High Court, ADGP and IGP level officer probed it. Now he wants to make allegations against them which are political...One should not mix the two issues. Legal battle, he is entitled to and we will defend it,” he stated.
When asked where the MUDA case stands at this stage, whether the court can accept the closure report by the Lokayukta police or go for a trial, Ponnanna stated, “The final report of the investigation is before the court, the court can decide to take cognizance in the matter, decide to accept the closure report. It can also decide to direct further investigation. There are various options available to the court in law, and it also depends on what the complainant is going to do...We do not know what the complainant is going to do,” he said.
Ponnanna stated while answering a question, “About the judgment in the issue relating to transfer of investigation of the MUDA case to the CBI...the order of the quashing the appeal for CBI probe, has been already passed by learned judge, that is the law of the land and that needs to be followed. We can’t demand as per our whims and fancies. Neither the accused nor the complainant can choose the investigating agency. It is the law.”
Meanwhile, Snehamayi Krishna, the petitioner in the MUDA case, stated in Mysuru on Wednesday that some of the individuals who provided him with documents related to the case, in which CM Siddaramaiah is named as accused number one, are Congress leaders.
"Many Congress leaders who cannot fight directly are waging a battle through me. Several crucial documents have been provided to me by Congress leaders," he claimed.
"My struggle is not limited to CM Siddaramaiah; all illegalities in the MUDA case should be thoroughly investigated. Anyone who has illegally obtained site allotments under the 50:50 ratio should be punished," he asserted.
In a major development regarding the MUDA case allegedly involving Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the petitioner Snehamayi Krishna filed a writ petition before the division bench of the Karnataka High Court on Wednesday, questioning the single bench order of quashing his appeal for the CBI investigation into the case.
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