The Karnataka High Court has completed hearings and reserved its decision regarding the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) authority to continue its investigation into alleged disproportionate assets of Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar. This decision follows a controversial move by the state government to withdraw consent for the CBI probe, a move also challenged by BJP MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal.
Justices K Somashekhar and Umesh M Adiga of the division bench have deliberated on the complex legal arguments presented. The CBI, supported by Patil’s counsel, maintains that once granted, state consent for investigation should not be retractable, especially not with retroactive effect. This stance is opposed by representatives of the current Congress-led state government, who argue that the initial consent provided by the former BJP government was legally flawed.
D K Shivakumar, who also serves as the President of the Karnataka Congress, has been under scrutiny for allegedly amassing wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income during his tenure as a minister from 2013 to 2018. The probe initially gained momentum following an FIR filed by the CBI on September 3, 2020, subsequent to an investigation triggered by the Enforcement Directorate after raids on Shivakumar’s properties in 2017.
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The recent governmental shift led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah resulted in a reassessment of the previous BJP government’s decision to sanction the CBI probe. On November 23, the current cabinet declared the former government’s consent as unlawful and rescinded it, prompting both the CBI and MLA Yatnal to petition the High Court.
