Karnataka High Court Reserves Verdict on Legality of Prosecution Sanction Against CM Siddaramaiah

The Karnataka High Court has reserved its verdict on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's petition challenging the legality of Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot's sanction for his prosecution in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority case. The court extended its interim order to defer proceedings in the special court for people's representatives.

The Karnataka High Court on Thursday concluded the hearing of a petition filed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who is challenging the legality of Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot's approval for his prosecution in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority case. Judge M Nagaprasanna reserved the court's decision and extended an interim order that prevents a special court from proceeding against the chief minister until the petition is resolved.

Siddaramaiah's legal team argued that the Governor's sanction, issued under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, was granted without proper consideration and contrary to constitutional principles. The Chief Minister claims the Governor ignored the advice of the Council of Ministers, which is binding under the constitution.

Prominent lawyers Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Prof Ravivarma Kumar contended that the Governor's decision was procedurally flawed and politically motivated. They argued the Governor's findings were based on 'presumptive bias' and lacked substantive reasoning, highlighting the unusual and expedited nature of this specific case compared to other pending applications.

(With inputs from agencies.)