Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Thursday responded to public expressions of support for his potential chief ministerial role and the Karnataka High Court's rejection of his plea to quash a CBI case related to alleged disproportionate assets. Speaking on the topic of people expressing their desire for him to become the Chief Minister, Shivakumar stated, "See. We have been given power for five years. The party leadership will decide whenever they need it. I'm not bothered about it. People have their own wishes, it is their opinion; our priority is to provide good governance."
Regarding the Karnataka High Court's dismissal of his plea to quash the CBI case, Shivakumar explained, "Somebody called me and told me that what I filed is not to stop the investigation, as there is a fault in the FIR filed against me. There are inaccuracies in the FIR, and the details mentioned weren't accurate. Our lawyers will look into it."
The Karnataka High Court has declined Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar's request to dismiss the Central Bureau of Investigation's case against him regarding alleged disproportionate assets, as reported by Bar and Bench.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) initiated a case against Shivakumar in 2020, accusing him of possessing assets that were disproportionate to the tune of Rs 74.93 crore. The senior Congress leader's assets were alleged to have significantly increased between 2013 and 2018. The CBI conducted raids at 14 premises associated with Shivakumar concerning the case.
Justice K Natarajan, on Thursday, noted that Shivakumar had filed the plea for case dismissal after a considerable delay and pointed out that a substantial portion of the investigation had been completed, according to Bar and Bench.
Natarajan further stated that Shivakumar could approach the court again to request the quashing of the case once the investigation is finalized, and the CBI submits its conclusive report. The court has instructed the agency to conclude the investigation within a period of three months.
In 2019, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Karnataka authorized the CBI to probe Shivakumar in this matter, based on information it had received from the Enforcement Directorate. The Enforcement Directorate was investigating money laundering allegations against Shivakumar, accusing him of tax evasion and involvement in alleged hawala transactions amounting to crores of rupees.