CBI Moves SC Against Karnataka Govt's Move To Withdraw Consent For Probe Against Deputy CM Shivakumar

The Siddaramaiah government held the previous BJP government's decision to give consent to the CBI to investigate the DA case against Shivakumar to be illegal.

The Supreme Court will hear the matter after four weeks.

Source : PTI

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has moved the Supreme Court against a decision by the Karanataka government to to withdraw the consent to the agency to probe the disproportionate assets (DA) case against Deputy Chief Minister and Congress leader DK Shivakumar. 

The Supreme Court will hear the matter after four weeks. A seperate plea moved by a BJP MLA Basangouda R Patil against the controvercial move by the Congress government was listed for hearing today in the top court but was adjourned on CBI's request.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan deffered the hearing by a month after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that CBI had also filed an appeal against the Karnataka High Court order.

BJP MLA Patil had challenged the Karnataka High Court order rejecting his plea against the withdrawal of consent. During the hearing, Mehta informed the bench that the CBI appeal had not been listed as yet whereas senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, representing Shivakumar, sought time to file a reply in the matter.

The top court on September 17 had issued a notice to DK Shivakumar and the Congress-led Karnataka government on the MLA's plea.

Previously, the high court had rejected the plea moved by the CBI against the Karnataka Congress government's move to withdraw the consent to the agency to probe the disproportionate assets (DA) case against Shivakumar.

The central probe agency alleged that DK Shivakumar amassed assets disproportionate to his known sources of income between 2013 and 2018 during his term as a minister in the erstwhile Congress government. After, the BJP government came to power in the state, its government granted sanction to the CBI to prosecute Shivakumar.

The Siddaramaiah government held the previous BJP government's decision to give consent to the CBI to investigate the DA case against Shivakumar to be illegal. In November, 2023 the Congress government referred the alleged Rs 74.93 crore DA case to the Lokayukta for investigation.