Bengaluru/New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed former Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy and wife Anitha to face criminal trial for alleged misuse of official position in granting lease to a mining firm and allotting 80 acres of land to a private cooperative society.

“You should face trial,” a bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and PC Pant said, rejecting the contention that the case was a result of political vendetta. The allegations against the Janata Dal (Secular) leader include he abused his official position in granting lease to a mining company for lifting of one lakh metric tonne of iron ore.

According to sources, Kumaraswamy said that the charges were baseless and he was ready to face investigations and stand trial in the cases.

The first case against Kumaraswamy and Anitha, then a JD(S) MLA, was about renewal of mining lease to the Jantakal mining firm in alleged violation of norms. The second was about alleged irregularities in allotment of sites to Vishwabharathi Housing Cooperative Society, which had made a quid pro quo site allotment to Anitha during Kumaraswamy’s tenure as chief minister in 2006.