The land was allotted to the trust run by Mallikarjun Kharge’s family by the BJP government in 2010 to set up an educational institution. (File Photo)The Karnataka High Court has set aside a special court’s decision to inquire into allegations of corruption in the 2010 allotment of a civic amenity site in Bengaluru to a trust run by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s family.The complainant in the case, who had sought a police investigation, moved the high court challenging the special court’s decision to conduct its own inquiry into the allotment of 8001-square-metre prime property by the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) to the Siddhartha Vihar Trust.In a ruling on August 18, the high court stated that the court for elected representatives erred in taking up its own inquiry despite the complainant—Vijayraghav Marathe, president of the Forum for a Corruption Free Karnataka—not following the due process mandated under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) for seeking a police investigation.“A curable defect calls for a cure, not the abandonment of the statutory course itself,” Justice M Nagaprasanna ruled while setting aside the special court’s August 11 order for an inquiry by the court under BNSS Section 223.“The concerned Court shall afford an opportunity to the complainant to cure the defect in the affidavit and thereafter proceed with the complaint strictly in accordance with the procedure obtaining under Section 175 of the BNSS, including compliance with the safeguards engrafted therein, wherever applicable,” the court said in its order published this week.The high court also made clear that it was not expressing any opinion on the merits of the allegations. “Whether the complaint ultimately warrants reference for investigation is a matter for the concerned Court to determine after following the procedure prescribed in law,” the court said.Land allotted by Yediyurappa governmentThe BDA site was allotted to set up an educational institution with a 50 per cent concession at a cost of Rs 1 crore by the then BJP government headed by B S Yediyurappa. The land is valued at over Rs 10 crore.Story continues below this adThe complainant alleged that the property had not been utilised by the trust for the intended purpose despite obtaining the allotment on the grounds of being an NGO working for the welfare of the scheduled caste community.Also Read | Mallikarjun Kharge and kin grabbed public land, gave it to shady private trust: BJPInitially, the BJP government approved the allotment of an 8125-square-metre civic amenity site in the 5th Block of Banashankari VI Stage to the trust in April 2010 to start an educational institution. The trust requested a concession and the lease amount was fixed at Rs 1.10 crore instead of the originally designated Rs 2.03 crore.The trust, however, sought alternative land and was given an 8001-square-metre property in September 2010 in the II Block of BTM IV Stage. The alternative site is now embroiled in a legal dispute after the BJP government denotified the land from BDA acquisition in favour of private persons.The high court in 2021 ordered the cancellation of the original BDA land acquisition on account of the alleged non-utilisation of land, but the Siddhartha Vihar Trust obtained a stay with respect to their land.Story continues below this adMarathe said the land allotment to the Kharge trust requires a police investigation since “allegations of corruption, abuse of public office and conferment of benefits contrary to the governing norms cannot appropriately be unravelled by the Special Court embarking upon an enquiry by itself”.The complainant has argued that a police agency must investigate the matter since the Prevention of Corruption Act “has put in place a specialised investigative agency equipped to probe allegations of corruption involving public servants”.In its order, the high court flagged lapses made by the complainant while seeking a police investigation against a public servant, especially the absence of information about any preliminary police inquiry in his affidavits.