Karnataka HC Rejects CBI Plea To Probe Against DK Shivakumar In Illegal Assets Case

Bengaluru: In a major relief to Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, the Karnataka High Court on Thursday held a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) plea against a decision of the Siddaramaiah-led state government to withdraw consent for investigation of a corruption case as ‘non-maintainable’. On August 12, a bench comprising Justices K Somashekhar and Umesh Adiga reserved their judgment in the November 28, 2023 CBI challenge. The judgment was reserved on the decision of the Congress government to withdraw consent to probe the alleged illegal assets of Shivakumar, and a December 26, 2023, state order to refer the matter to the Karnataka Lokayukta for a probe.

The bench said that the issue is a Centre-State dispute since it involves a central agency and hence, should be heard by the Supreme Court. Therefore, the plea was dismissed on the grounds of maintainability and the Court did not go into the case's merits.

Two Petitions Were Filed Before The Karnataka High Court

"The Court after carefully considering the arguments and legal provisions notes that the dispute is between the State and the CBI. The dispute relates to the Centre's power to deploy the CBI in a state that has legally withdrawn its sanction. The present writ petitions are not maintainable. Such disputes that involve the State's autonomy and the central government's authority are better suited to seek a remedy before the Supreme Court. This, both the writ petitions are hereby dismissed as not maintainable," the Court said.

The Court was dealing with two petitions, one by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal and the other by the CBI, which also has now objected to the State's decision to withdraw consent for the corruption investigation against Shivakumar.

In the first petition, filed on November 28, 2023, the decision of the Congress government to withdraw consent to probe the alleged illegal assets of Shivakumar and the second, the State's order issued on December 26, 2023, to refer the matter to the Karnataka Lokayukta for a probe.

During the hearing, Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi had appeared for Shivakumar. They argued that the then BJP's government to grant consent for the CBI probe was malafide. They submitted that the CBI entering into the State's arena by probing the case based on void consent was a breach of federal principles.

On September 25, 2019, the then BJP government in Karnataka had granted CBI consent to register a first information report against Shivakumar in a case involving allegations of corruption and holding of disproportionate assets.

Shivakumar later moved a writ petition before a single-judge bench of the High Court challenging the same. On April 4, 2023, the plea was dismissed, following which Shivakumar moved an appeal before a division bench.

Meanwhile, the Congress government came to power in the State in May 2023 and on November 28, it withdrew the consent granted to CBI for the probe. By this time, Shivakumar was also appointed the Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka.