The Supreme Court on Tuesday served a notice to Karnataka’s Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and the state government, responding to a petition that contests the withdrawal of consent for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe a case of disproportionate assets against him. This notice stems from a plea by Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, a BJP MLA from Karnataka, challenging an earlier decision by the Karnataka High Court.
On August 29, 2024, the Karnataka High Court had dismissed Yatnal’s plea, which sought to overturn the state government’s decision to withdraw permission for the CBI to investigate Shivakumar. The High Court had ruled the petitions non-maintainable, a decision that has now reached the apex court for further scrutiny.
The Supreme Court bench, comprising Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan, has asked for responses from both the state government and Shivakumar. During the proceedings, senior advocate A M Singhvi, representing Shivakumar, defended the High Court’s ruling, suggesting that the conflict involved only the Centre and the State, and thus, the CBI should be the aggrieved party. Conversely, Senior advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for Yatnal, criticized the High Court’s dismissal, particularly noting the absence of discussion regarding his client’s legal standing in the matter.
