Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will undergo investigation in the high-profile Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land allotment case, often referred to as the MUDA case. The Karnataka High Court has upheld the Governor’s sanction for prosecution, marking the first significant corruption challenge for Siddaramaiah in his second term as Chief Minister, a position he has mostly held without controversy.
The allegations, spearheaded by the BJP-led Opposition and some activists, claim that Siddaramaiah and his wife, Parvathi, unfairly benefited from a compensatory land deal involving MUDA. The purported irregularities are estimated to be worth ₹4,000 crore.
The broader case involves alleged violations in which several individuals received more alternative sites than they were entitled to after MUDA acquired their land for the development of key areas in Mysuru. This took place under a 50:50 scheme introduced in November 2020, which was later scrapped by Siddaramaiah in 2023. Under the scheme, landowners were entitled to 50% of the developed plots, with MUDA retaining the other half.
The controversy intensified when it was revealed that Siddaramaiah’s wife, Parvathi, allegedly received 14 prime sites in the Vijayanagar area in 2022, violating established norms. The land allocation stemmed from a 3.16-acre parcel in Mysuru’s Kesaru village, originally transferred to Siddaramaiah’s brother-in-law, Mallikarjun Swamy, in 2005.
In 2010, Siddaramaiah’s wife received this land as a gift. When MUDA acquired it for development, Parvathi was allocated alternative sites in more valuable localities. The BJP and activists argue that these alternative plots were in areas with higher circle rates, significantly increasing their value compared to the original Kesaru land.
The case drew further attention when a man named Manjunath Swamy claimed the plot in Kesaru village was his ancestral land. Swamy accused his uncle, Devaraj, of fraudulently selling the land to Siddaramaiah’s brother-in-law.
Despite the allegations, Siddaramaiah maintains that the land transfer to his wife followed all legal procedures. He also emphasized that the BJP was in power when the allotment to his wife occurred in 2021.
