Lokayukta names Siddaramaiah as ‘Accused No. 1’ in FIR

The Karnataka Lokayukta on Friday filed a first information report (FIR) against chief minister Siddaramaiah, his wife BM Parvathi and brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy in connection with a land allotment case, compounding the problems for the embattled Congress leader who swept to power last year on an anti-corruption campaign.
The case involves allegations of irregularities in land allotted to Siddaramaiah’s wife, Parvathi, by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (Muda). It came on a day Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge rallied behind Siddaramaiah amid mounting calls for the CM’s ouster.
“The FIR was filed following a direction to the Lokayukta by the special court in Bengaluru,” said TJ Udesh, superintendent of Lokayukta Police in Mysuru, confirming the FIR, a copy of which is with HT.
Siddaramaiah was named as the primary accused, followed by his wife Parvathi as the second accused, and Mallikarjuna Swamy as the third. Devaraju, who sold the land to Swamy, was listed as the fourth accused, along with “others”. The FIR invoked Section 120B (criminal conspiracy), Section 166 (disobeying the law with intent to cause injury), Section 403 (dishonest misappropriation of property), Section 406 (criminal breach of trust), and Section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code. It also included charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act, the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, and the Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition Act.
Siddaramaiah is the second sitting chief minister of Karnataka to face an FIR.
The Karnataka Lokayukta, founded in 1984, serves as the watchdog to address corruption and public complaints against state officials. Initially seen as a powerful entity in tackling corruption, its authority to investigate was taken away in 2016 and given to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), an agency controlled by the CM’s office. However, in 2022, the Karnataka high court disbanded the ACB and reinstated the Lokayukta’s authority, transferring all active cases back to it.
Karnataka Upa Lokayukta justice B Veerappa (Retd) addressed the recent allegations against the institution on Friday, stating that the Lokayukta is carrying out its duties with integrity. “We are doing our job. There is no question of changing our pattern. We have to go by the procedure… If false cases are filed, we can also prosecute them. Lokayukta is doing its job honestly,” he said.
The CM denied any wrongdoing and dismissed calls for his resignation, attributing the case to political moves orchestrated by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). “Why should I tender my resignation? You have to tender a resignation only if you have done something wrong, right? When I have not done anything wrong,” he said, addressing reporters at Mysuru airport.
Kharge and the Congress rallied behind him. “Their [BJP’s] main aim is to defame the Congress party, it is not fair, there is no question of him [Siddaramaiah] resigning from the post,” Kharge said.
The Opposition in the state criticised his refusal to resign. “If Siddaramaiah continues to argue, why should I resign even after all this?, it would render his 40 years of political life meaningless. I believe he wouldn’t want to sink further in the eyes of the people, losing the remaining respect he has,” said senior BJP leader R Ashoka.
Responding to the development, Krishna said that he has approached the high court seeking a CBI probe into the matter. “The Lokayukta has filed an FIR, but I have approached the high court for a CBI probe, so the matter is investigated without any prejudice,” he said.
The controversy revolves around land acquisition and compensation in Mysuru’s Devanur 3rd stage layout. The disputed land is a 3.16 acre plot, which Siddaramaiah says was gifted to Parvathi by Mallikarjuna, in 1998.
In 2014, when Siddaramaiah was CM, Parvathi applied for compensation for the land after Muda allegedly took over the land for development without her permission.
In 2017, Muda agreed to compensate her, and she was given 14 residential plots amounting to a total of 38,284 square feet in the prime Vijayanagar 3rd and 4th stage layouts.
The complainants argued that these 14 plots – in the heart of Karnataka’s second-largest city – were far more valuable than the original land, under Muda’s 50:50 scheme. After the controversy came to light, Siddaramiah offered to return the 14 plots if his wife was given ₹62 crore as compensation.
The Muda 50:50 scheme, announced in 2016, entailed offering 50% of the developed sites as compensation to the original land owners. The controversial scheme was scrapped in 2023.
The complaint, filed by Snehamayi Krishna and seen by HT, alleged a long-running conspiracy by Siddaramaiah and his family. The 14 plots given to Parvathi were valued at over ₹8 crore, while the original land was reportedly worth ₹3.5 crore based on the official guidance value, alleged the complaint.
“The accused number 1, who held office of power as the deputy chief minister of Karnataka in the year 1996 to 1999…hatched a plan with accused 2 to 5 in order to knock of the properties belonging to Muda,” the complaint said.
The complaint added that in 2004, Devaraju sold the plot to Mallikarjuna Swamy by falsifying the sale deeds. “When Accused no. 1 returned to power as deputy chief minister in 2004… the sale deed was executed in the name of Accused no. 3, the CM’s brother-in-law, and was later transferred to Accused no. 2, his wife, as benami property,” it said.
“This is a serious case of an economic offence involving blatant corruption at the higher rungs of executive and political power,” the complaint added.
It further alleged that Devaraju cooperated with Siddaramaiah and his family to execute a fraudulent sale of the land, allowing the misuse of public office for personal gain.
Krishna said that the alleged irregularities intensified when Siddaramaiah became CM in 2013. “When Accused No. 1 became the chief minister of Karnataka in 2013, the attempt to grab the MUDA sites regained momentum and acting according to the illegal plan, Accused No. 2, Smt. Parvathy, from 2014 onwards started to make representations to MUDA requesting allotment of compensatory sites for allegedly using the land in sy. no. 464 for the development of Devanuru’s 3rd phase layout,” the complaint said.
Krishna’s complaint placed the responsibility of the alleged irregularities on Siddaramaiah. “The accused number 1 is personally and collectively responsible for the actions, acts and policies involved in the Muda scam. He is accountable and answerable to the people of the state.”
Krishna also filed a petition in the high court seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the matter. The petition expressed concerns about the Lokayukta’s ability to conduct a fair investigation, citing its connection to the state government.
But Siddaramaiah was defiant, visiting Mysuru where large crowds gathered to see him.
He questioned the BJP’s moral authority in demanding his resignation, referring to Union minister HD Kumaraswamy, who is part of the BJP-led central government and is currently out on bail ina 2007 mining lease case.
“An FIR has been registered against Kumaraswamy, and he is out on bail. What moral right does the BJP have to seek my resignation? This is a political conspiracy. They want to destabilise our government.”
The CM also reiterated his innocence. “I have not committed any wrong, and I will fight the case against me in the alleged MUDA scam legally,” he said.
Siddaramaiah’s troubles began on August 16, when governor Thaawarchand Gehlot granted sanction under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, enabling the prosecution of the CM in connection with the alleged offences mentioned in the petition.
On August 19, Siddaramaiah approached the high court, challenging the governor’s sanction.
But last Tuesday, the high court sided with Gehlot. Justice M Nagaprasanna, who delivered the verdict, upheld the governor’s decision, explaining that under certain exceptional conditions, the governor can act independently, as per the provisions of the Constitution.
The Congress stood with the CM. “Law will take its course… It is not necessary that the government should respond to it as it is an autonomous body. If Siddaramaiah has personally committed a crime, he is responsible, but he has not done anything like that,” Kharge told news agency ANI.