The High Court of Karnataka on Wednesday adjourned the hearing of the appeal filed by Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar against the sanction accorded by the previous government to the CBI to prosecute him in a disproportionate assets case, to November 29.
The division bench of Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice Krishna S Dixit adjourned the hearing after a joint memo was filed by Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, and senior counsel Uday Holla, who was appearing for Shivakumar.
On November 15, the CBI had informed the HC that the Supreme Court has directed the HC to hear the application filed by the investigating agency seeking vacation of stay granted on the appeal preferably within two weeks. The HC therefore fixed the date of hearing for November 22.
However on Wednesday, the ASG informed the court that the CBI would present its arguments on November 27, since he had another case before the Supreme Court at the same time. He submitted the counsel for the appellant could be allowed to present their case today itself.
The HC said that there would be no hearings on November 27.
Shivakumar’s counsel Holla submitted that he needed only 30 minutes to argue the case and said he had no objection to adjourning the hearing.
The HC directed both the counsels to submit a joint memo for adjournment and then adjourned the hearing to November 29.
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A single judge bench had earlier dismissed Shivakumar’s petition challenging the sanction of September 25, 2019 granted by the Government to prosecute him.
Shivakumar then challenged it before the division bench which had stayed the single judge order. The CBI had filed an application for vacation of this stay.
Based on the Income Tax Department’s search operations in Shivakumar’s home and offices in 2017, the Enforcement Directorate started its own probe against him. Based on the ED investigation, the CBI sought sanction from the State Government to file a FIR against him.
The State Government had given the sanction on September 25, 2019. The CBI had filed an FIR against him on October 3, 2020.
