The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday rejected Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's petition challenging Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot's approval for an investigation into alleged irregularities in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land allotment case. The case involves accusations of illegal allocation of 14 prime sites in Mysuru to Siddaramaiah’s wife.

Justice M Nagaprasanna, presiding over the single-judge bench, ruled that the Governor's sanction for prosecution did not suffer from "non-application of mind." The court upheld the Governor's decision, rejecting the Chief Minister's argument.

Siddaramaiah had contested the legality of the sanction under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act and prosecution under Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. The Governor granted the sanction on August 17, following complaints by Bengaluru-based social activists Pradeep Kumar SP and TJ Abraham, along with Mysuru-based activist Snehamayi Krishna.

Earlier, in an interim order on August 19, the High Court had provided temporary relief to Siddaramaiah by directing a special court in Bengaluru to pause proceedings and refrain from taking any immediate action based on the Governor's sanction. However, in its final order, the High Court dismissed Siddaramaiah's plea, reinforcing that the Governor's decision was made after careful consideration.

This ruling paves the way for further investigation into the alleged illegal land allotment case involving the Chief Minister.