No HC relief for JD(S) MLA in illegal site allotment case

Bengaluru: In a setback for CS Puttaraju, JD(S) MLA from Melukote constituency in Mandya district, the high court refused to interfere with the proceedings initiated against him in an illegal site allotment case.
The case is pending before a special court for CBI cases in Bengaluru and pertains to illegal allotment/sale and re-purchase of a Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site by Puttaraju when he was MLA of Melukote.
Puttaraju had challenged the complaint, the FIR and chargesheet, contending that sanction of prosecution ought to have preceded taking of cognizance of the case.
Justice Sunil Dutt Yadav noted that since the chargesheet was filed on February 3, 2016, much before July 26, 2018, when the amendment to section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act came into force, it is the pre-amendment law that will be applicable. The judge added the conclusion arrived at by the special court that Puttaraju and two other accused were members of MUDA at the relevant time and hence, no sanction to prosecute them is required under the pre-amended PC Act-1988 is legally correct.
The case was that Puttaraju’s wife was allotted a MUDA site on March 13, 2008. When Puttaraju became MLA for 2008-2013, he was appointed member of MUDA as well. He submitted a pre-dated application for allotment of a site on October 16, 2009 declaring that neither he nor his family has been allotted site by any urban development authority. A site was allotted to Puttaraju and the possession certificate issued to him on January 5, 2010. He illegally executed a sale deed with respect to the site to Khalak Sharief on October 15, 2011. Then he made an application to MUDA seeking cancellation of the allotment on December 27, 2011 and on January 2, 2012, re-purchased the property from Sharief, the prosecution said.