SC Slams ED in Siddaramaiah’s Wife Case, Upholds Quashing of MUDA Probe

A bench of Chief Justice B. R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran asked why the ED was being “used” in political battles. “Let political battles be fought before the electorate,” the CJI said. Addressing Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju for the ED, he warned, “Please don’t compel us to open our mouths. Otherwise, we will be forced to make some harsh comments about the ED.”

Hearing the ED’s appeal against the Karnataka High Court’s March 7 order, the bench found “no error in the reasoning” of the single judge and dismissed the appeal. The Supreme Court also quashed the summons issued to urban development minister B.S. Suresh, who had been called in for questioning despite not being named as an accused. The High Court had stayed both sets of summons on January 27 pending resolution of the petitions.

The Muda case originated from a Lokayukta Police FIR registered on September 27, 2024, alleging that Siddaramaiah, his wife Parvati, his brother in law B.M. Mallikarjun Swamy, and others were involved in irregular allotment of 14 plots in Mysuru. The Lokayukta Police later gave a clean chit to Siddaramaiah, Parvati, and two other accused for lack of evidence. Nevertheless, the ED registered its own Enforcement Case Information Report on September 30, 2024, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, and provisionally attached the disputed sites on January 17, 2025, alleging they had been “illegally allotted.”