The MUDA corruption case haunts Karnataka Chief Minister S Siddaramaiah even after getting a clean chit from Lokayukta, as the Karnataka High Court on Wednesday allowed the Enforcement Directorate to continue its investigations into the MUDA land allotment case against Parathi, wife of the Chief Minister, and Minister Byrathi Suresh.
In an order on an Enforcement Directorate plea for revoking the quashing of ED summons to the accused DB Natesha, former MUDA Commissioner, a two-member bench led by the Chief Justice ruled that quashing of ED summons to one of the accused cannot be used to stall investigations into the corruption case against all accused.
Now, after the latest High Court order, the ED can go ahead with its investigations into the case against Parvathi, wife of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, and another state minister, Bharathi Suresh, who all got a stay on the ED summons after the High Court quashed similar summons issued to the former MUDA commissioner. A single judge bench had earlier quashed ED summons to the former MUDA commissioner.
The latest High Court order is bad news for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his wife, accused in the case, as the division bench comprising Chief Justice N V Anjaria and Justice K V Aravind, in an interim order, allowed ED to investigate all other accused in the case.
The investigations by the central agency came to a halt after all the accused got a stay on ED summons citing the single judge order relating to Natesh. The High Court had quashed notices issued to Ms Parvathi (wife of Siddaramaiah) and Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh, citing observations made against ED in Natesh’s case judgment.
The two-member bench said that the judgment of a single judge benefiting Natesh, could not be used to stall the entire investigation. The ED had pointed out that Natesh’s case judgment had stalled the probe against Ms Parvathi, to whom MUDA had allotted 14 sites.