The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) appeal. The appeal challenged a Karnataka High Court decision. This decision had quashed summons issued to BM Parvathi, wife of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. It was in connection with the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land scam case.
A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justice K Vinod Chandran made strong remarks. They questioned the ED’s role in political matters.
“Let political battles be fought among the electorate. Why are you being used for it?” the Court said, drawing a parallel to political misuse of investigating agencies.
The ED’s counsel, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, eventually agreed to withdraw the appeal. He requested that the withdrawal not be treated as a precedent.
“We do not find any error in the reasoning adopted by the High Court. In the peculiar facts and circumstances, we dismiss the appeal. Thank you, ASG, for saving us from making some harsh comments,” the Court concluded.
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The case pertains to alleged irregularities in land allocation by MUDA. According to the complaint, Parvathi received over three acres of land as a gift. Her brother Swamy gave her the land. He had acquired it after it was de-notified. Despite private ownership, the land was developed by MUDA. Parvathi sought and received inflated compensation. This compensation included 14 developed alternate plots.
She later surrendered the land back to the authorities amid public scrutiny.
The Karnataka High Court, in its order dated March 7, had quashed the ED summons to Parvathi. State Minister Byrathi Suresh was not named as an accused. However, he was still summoned.
The Supreme Court’s ruling today is a significant setback for the ED. It bolsters ongoing criticism about the agency’s perceived political bias.
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