The Special Court for People’s Representatives in Bengaluru on Thursday reserved its definitive order till December 18 on multiple petitions challenging the Lokayukta police’s controversial “B-Report” that had granted a complete clean chit to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment scandal, a case that has gripped state politics for over a year.

Dismissing requests for further extensions, the court sternly directed the Lokayukta and the Crime Investigation Department (CID) to submit their final investigation report by December 18, rejecting any leniency beyond the earlier two-month deadline already granted on October 8. While the Special Public Prosecutor assured the report would be ready by December 8, the judge maintained December 18 as the absolute final date, underscoring the need for expeditious closure of preliminary proceedings.

Upon receipt of the final report, the court will simultaneously pronounce its ruling on applications filed by activist-complainant Snehamayi Krishna and the Enforcement Directorate that seek rejection of the closure report and continuation of the probe. All parties have been instructed to file any additional documents or submissions by December 16, leaving no scope for further delays in this high-stakes litigation.

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The core allegation is that 14 premium residential plots in Mysuru’s sought-after Vijayanagar Layout were irregularly allotted to Siddaramaiah’s wife, BM Parvathi, under MUDA’s 50:50 compensatory scheme in exchange for 3.16 acres of land in Kasare village to which she allegedly possessed no legal title. The FIR, registered on September 27, 2024, also names Parvathi, Siddaramaiah’s brother-in-law Mallikarjun Swamy, and the original landowner Devaraju, accusing them of causing substantial wrongful gain to the family and corresponding loss to the public exchequer.

The December 18 verdict is now poised to be a watershed moment: either upholding the Lokayukta’s exoneration and effectively closing the case against the Chief Minister and his family, or overturning the B-Report and ordering a full trial, a development that could trigger intense political repercussions for the Congress government in Karnataka and reshape the state’s power dynamics ahead of future elections.

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