The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) challenging the Karnataka High Court order that quashed the summons issued to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife BM Parvathi, an accused in the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam case.
The Bench of Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran said it did not find any error in the reasoning adopted by the single-judge Bench of the High Court.
The top court of the country said political battles should be fought outside the Court. It also asked the national agency why it was being used to fight such battles.
Appearing for ED, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju sought permission to withdraw the plea, stating that this should not be treated as a precedent.
The Apex Court thanked the ASG for saving it from passing some harsh comments and dismissed the plea.
The matter pertained to allegations of corruption and irregular allocation of land by MUDA to Siddaramaiah’s wife, Parvathi.
As per the complaint, Parvathi was ‘gifted’ a land plot measuring a little over three acres by her brother Swamy. The land was initially acquired, then de-notified and bought by Swamy. It was developed by MUDA, even though private individuals owned it.
Swamy claimed that he bought the land in 2004 and gifted it to his sister. However, since the land was illegally developed by MUDA, Parvathi sought compensation. She allegedly received highly inflated compensation, including 14 developed alternate plots of land, much higher in value than the original three acres, under a 50:50 scheme.
She later surrendered the land back to the authorities.
On March 7, the single-judge Bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna quashed the summons issued by ED to Parvathi.
The single-judge further quashed the summons issued to Minister Byrathi Suresh, who was not named as an accused, but whom the ED has sought to question in the case.
The national agency then moved the Apex Court against the judgment.