Shivakumar Refrains from Commenting on Cabinet Move to Withdraw Approval for CBI Probe Against Him

Refraining from offering a direct comment, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Friday said he has seen media reports about the state cabinet holding the view that the sanction given by the previous BJP government to the CBI to investigate a disproportionate assets case against him was “not in accordance with law.”

Shivakumar, also Karnataka Congress chief, stayed away from Thursday’s Cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The Congress government is now expected to issue an order withdrawing the consent given to the CBI in the case.

“I saw in the paper (newspaper), I could not attend (the cabinet meeting) yesterday. Whoever has to speak on it will speak,” Shivakumar told reporters here. Noting that he was going to Telangana for two days for the election campaign there, he said, “if the party asks me to extend (campaigning), I will have to.”

The High Court of Karnataka on Wednesday adjourned to November 29 the hearing of the appeal filed by Shivakumar against the sanction accorded by the previous government to the CBI to prosecute him in a disproportionate assets case.

The CBI informed the High Court on November 15 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.

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 at 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 register a case against him. The state government had given the sanction on September 25, 2019.

The CBI had registered an FIR against him on October 3, 2020. The CBI has claimed that Shivakumar amassed wealth to the tune of Rs 74.93 crore, disproportionate to known sources of his income from April 1, 2013 to April 30, 2018, when he was the Energy Minister in the then Siddaramaiah-led Congress government (2013-2018).