MUDA Scam| Supreme Court refuses ED appeal against CM Siddaramaiah's wife
The Supreme Court today refused an appeal filed by Enforcement Directorate against the Karnataka High Court decision to quash the proceedings against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife, BM Parvathi, in relation to the alleged Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam.
"Please do not force us to say something..we will have to say something harsh about the ED..", a bench comprising CJI BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran told Additional Solicitor General SV Raju.
Court further asked the ED to not fight such battles and said, "political battles should be fought outside the Court".
In response, ASG Raju said, "We will withdraw..but this should not be treated as a precedent..".
A single judge bench of the Karnataka High Court in March this year had quashed the summons issued to Parvathi and Minister Byrathi Suresh.
Notably, in February Mysore Lokayukta Police had given a clean chit to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his wife B.M. Parvathi, and his brother-in-law B.M. Mallikarjuna Swamy in the alleged Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam.
The allegations against the Chief Minister's family stemmed from claims of corruption in MUDA's allocation of land to Parvathi. According to the complaint, Parvathi was “gifted” over three acres of land by her brother Swamy. The land was initially acquired by MUDA, later de-notified, and subsequently purchased by Swamy. Despite the land being privately owned, MUDA proceeded to develop it, raising concerns of irregularity. Swamy asserted that he legally acquired the land in 2004 and later gifted it to Parvathi.
The controversy intensified when, in January 2022, Parvathi allegedly received inflated compensation under MUDA’s 50:50 scheme, including 14 developed alternative plots of significantly higher value than the original three-acre property. The state government discontinued the said scheme in October 2023.
However, the Lokayukta police announced a further investigation into the broader allegations surrounding MUDA’s compensatory plot allocations under the 50:50 scheme between 2016 and 2024. An additional final report will be filed under Section 173(8) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), enabling continued investigation if new evidence emerges.
Notably, the Karnataka High Court had earlier, dismissed a plea to transfer the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), holding “Lokayukta to be an independent agency, competent to investigate into the allegations against high functionaries, including the Chief Minister of the State of Karnataka.”
Case Title: ED Vs Parvathi
Hearing Date: July 21, 2025
Bench: CJI Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran