Former HC judge P. N. Desai submits probe report on alleged MUDA scam in Karnataka

Former judge of the Karnataka High Court P. N. Desai submitted a six-volume report his probe into the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land scam to Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh on July 31.

Following allegations of involvement of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his wife Parvati, the State Government had constituted a one-man judicial commission, headed by Mr. Desai, in July 2024 to probe the allegations.

In September-October 2024, the CM’s wife surrendered 14 MUDA sites.

The order on the constitution of the commission came on the eve of the commencement of the monsoon session of the State legislature in July 2024 and had led to a lot of noise during the session. The opposition BJP and JD(S) took out a padayatra from Bengaluru to Mysuru seeking resignation of Mr. Siddaramaiah.

The commission had been given six months to complete the probe and submit its report to the government of Karnataka. The commission submitted its report after a year.

The BJP and JD(S) have alleged that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvati had been illegally allotted 14 alternative sites for 3.16 acres of land that had been acquired from her by MUDA.

Later, the High Court of Karnataka permitted the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to continue its investigation against all persons, whether accused or not, in the MUDA case. The ED has provisionally attached close to 100 immovable properties in connection with the alleged MUDA scam. The attachment was carried out on June 9, 2025, under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.