MUDA site case: Karnataka HC refuses to quash proceedings against MLA

The high court has declined to quash proceedings against C S Puttaraju, MLA from Melukote constituency, before the special CBI court in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment case.

Justice Sunl Dutt Yadav directed the CBI court to go ahead with the trial observing that the amendments to Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act are not retrospective in nature.

The petitioner challenged the registration of FIR and the order of the CBI court dated March 29, 2021, taking cognizance of the charge sheet.

It is contended that prosecution sanction ought to have preceded taking of cognizance as per the amendment to the PC Act in 2018.

It was argued that the amendment was by way of substitution and accordingly, it would have retrospective effect and is deemed to have been part of the Act since its inception.

The Act, as amended, prescribed sanction even for the period the accused was employed at the time of commission of the alleged offence.

The CBI contended that the offence was committed in the year 2009 and the charge sheet was filed in 2016.

The 2018 amendments created new offences punishable under Sections 7 to 13 and the procedure for obtaining sanction was made necessary even as regards the retired public servants.

The court observed that till the amendment was affected to section 19 of the PC Act in 2018, sanction was required only if the person concerned was ‘in employment’ at the time when cognizance was taken.

However, the court did not accept the finding of the trial court in regard to the procedure of sanction to members of the legislature.

The trial court held that an elected member of legislative Assembly not being appointed could not be removed even by the Speaker and accordingly, no sanction was necessary.

The court said it is the settled position of law that the Speaker would be the competent authority to grant sanction for prosecution against an elected representative.

The case is from 2009 when Puttaraju was an MLA between 2008 and 2013, and was also appointed as a member of the Mysuru Urban Development Authority, whose membership is co-terminus with his tenure as MLA.

It is alleged that he had got allotted a stray site to himself though he was ineligible, as his wife was already an allottee of a site from MUDA.

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