Karnataka HC Dismisses Shivakumar's Plea Against Govt Sanction To CBI Probe In Disproportionate Assets Case

According to Shivakumar’s petition, since he was an MLA during the time the government gave the sanction, the permission of the Speaker of the Assembly had to be obtained which was not done.

Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar

New Delhi: The Karnataka High Court on Thursday dismissed the petition by state Congress president D K Shivakumar challenging the sanction given by Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for prosecuting him, news agency PTI reported. After a request by the central agency, the state government had given the sanction on September 25, 2019, based on which it filed an FIR against Shivakumar on October 3, 2020.

Shivakumar had challenged both the sanction and the FIR in two separate petitions before the Karnataka High Court.

Notably, the Income Tax Department had conducted a search and seizure operation in the offices and residence of Shivakumar in 2017. Based on it, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) started its probe against him, following which, the CBI sought sanction from the state Government to file an FIR against the Congress leader.

Shivakumar had challenged the sanction on grounds that this was a politically motivated FIR and that three FIRs have already been filed earlier against him in relation to disproportionate income.

The Karnataka High Court had earlier this week reserved its judgment on the petition challenging the sanction. On Wednesday, the court adjourned the hearing of the other petition challenging the FIR to May 30. On Thursday evening, the single-judge bench of Justice K Natarajan dismissed Shivakumar’s plea challenging the sanction.

According to Shivakumar’s petition, since he was an MLA during the time the government gave the sanction, the permission of the Speaker of the Assembly had to be obtained which was not done in the case and the government had also not mentioned the reasons for granting the sanction.

However, the probe agency had objected to the plea stating that the accused cannot demand which agency should conduct investigation against him.

It was claimed that 90 per cent of the investigation was complete and the CBI submitted a status report on the investigation to the court. Since it was a special case related to disproportionate income, the petition was sought to be dismissed.

Notably, Shivakumar has been charged under Section 13(2), Section 13(1)(e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.