Now, Karnataka's second BJP chief minister faces court heat in land grab case

BJP's second chief minister in Karnataka DV Sadananda Gowda, who quit the post last July, and his wife were Tuesday summoned by a court here to appear before it Oct 12 in an illegal construction and land allotment case.

The summons was issued by Lokayukta (ombudsman) court judge NK Sudhindra Rao on a petition by a Bangalore journalist Nagalakshmi, who alleged that Gowda's wife had bought nearly 8,000 sqft of land earmarked for grazing in Bagalur village in north Bangalore without proper papers in 2008.

A storeyed-building of over 8,700 sqft was constructed on the land without licence and without getting the land converted for commercial use, the petition claimed. It also alleged that Gowda, in his assets declaration, had concealed the fact of construction of the building on this piece of land.

Gowda is also accused of acquiring a house plot in Bangalore from the Bangalore Development Authority by giving a false affidavit that he did not possess any site or land in the state.

Last August, Gowda succeeded BS Yeddyurappa, BJP's first chief minister in the state and in south India who was forced to quit over mining bribery charges. Yeddyurappa is also facing a dozen corruption and illegal land deal cases, all being heard by Sudhindra Rao.

Gowda made way for BJP's third chief minister in four years Jagadish Shettar in July this year following a rebellion by Yeddyurappa and his supporters.