The Karnataka High Court on Friday quashed the Enforcement Directorate’s summons to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife, who is a primary accused in with the Mysuru urban development land scam case in which her husband is also named.
A single-judge bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna also struck down summons to Urban Development Minister Byrathi Suresh, whom the probe agency had wanted to question.
In January the court had also stayed the ED’s summons to the Chief Minister’s wife, BM Parvathi, and Mr Suresh. Ms Parvathi had argued the federal agency was trying to probe an issue – i.e., alleged irregularities over land allotment – that is already being investigated.
Inquiries into the Mysuru Urban Development Authority, or MUDA, scam were led by the Karnataka branch of anti-corruption watchdog Lokayukta and a special police team.
The Lokayukta last month said there is a “lack of evidence to conduct an investigation” against the Chief Minister and his wife, and noted also that charges against them seemed “civil in nature and not suitable for criminal charges”.
NDTV News-India-news