BENGALURU: “Serious allegations are levelled against Siddaramaiah, who is holding a high position in the democratic set-up of our country. When the needle of suspicion is pointed at a person who is holding a high position in society, it is the cardinal principle of law that the same is required to be investigated,” said the Special Court for trial of cases against sitting and former MPs/MLAs.
Judge Santhosh Gajanan Bhat of the Special Court made these observations in the MUDA case order passed on Wednesday, and was available on Thursday.
The connectivity with which allegations are levelled against him (Siddaramaiah) and the relevant date on which he has been in power, points the needle of suspicion towards him, the judge said, ordering a probe against the CM and others, including his wife, by Lokayukta police.
The probe will be under provisions of IPC, Prevention of Corruption Act, Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act and Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition Act, on the complaint filed by Snehamayi Krishna.
Giving a bird’s eye view of the path the case has taken from 1994 to 2023, the court observed that Siddaramaiah was holding a high constitutional position at crucial phases of development in the case, which would once again point the needle of suspicion at him.
Making clear that the observations are only made on the existence of prima facie material and should not be construed as passing observation on merits, the court, however, said the needle of suspicion can only be cleared through proper and fair investigation.
Quoting Mundaka Upanishad, “Truth alone triumphs; not falsehood. Through truth, the divine path is spread out by which the sages, whose desires have been completely fulfilled, reach to where is that supreme treasure of Truth”, the judge added that the truth is required to be deciphered from falsehood. Also, the high court in its September 24 judgment had clearly held that necessary investigation is required to be conducted.
By relying on materials placed before this court and observations made by the high court, it is a fit and proper case for ordering the investigation, the judge said.
The judge also quoted the Doctrine of Trivarga, extracted from the book ‘Raja Dharma with Lessons on Raja Neeti’ written by Justice Rama Jois, “Gandhiji’s idea of an ideal polity was Ramarajya. Today, we have responsible governments run by elected representatives. If the rulers do not observe Dharma, it will become a Ravanarajya. We have to choose between Ramarajya and Ravanarajya.”