The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday moved the High Court of Karnataka questioning the State government’s November 28, 2023, order of withdrawing consent granted to it on September 25, 2019, to probe a ₹74.93-crore disproportionate assets case registered against Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.
While disclosing to the High Court that the State government on December 22, 2023, had passed a separate order transferring the First Information Report (FIR), registered by the CBI against Mr. Shivakumar, to the Karnataka Lokayukta police for investigation, the CBI questioned its legality.
Referred to larger Bench
Justice Krishna S. Dixit, before whom the petition filed by the CBI came up for hearing, ordered for placing the petition before the Chief Justice for referring it to a larger Bench as it raises several larger legal issues like the power of the State to withdraw consent for investigation granted under Section of the Delhi Police Establishment Act, 1946, and whether the FIR registered prior to withdrawal of consent would sustain, etc.
A separate petition filed earlier by MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, who too had questioned the legality of withdrawal of sanction, has been tagged to be heard along with the CBI’s petition.
The contentions
Before referring the petitions to the Division Bench, Justice Dixit noted the arguments made by CBI’s Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) P. Prasanna Kumar that withdrawal of consent by the State government would not affect the investigation in the FIR registered by it against Mr. Shivakumar. The SPP also contended that the CBI can independently challenge the legality of withdrawal of consent, and that the State government has no power in law to transfer the FIR registered by the CBI to the Lokayukta police.
The court also noted the contention of State Advocate-General Shashi Kiran Shetty that both Mr. Yatnal and the CBI have no locus standi in law to challenge the withdrawal of consent for investigation.
Background of case
In 2017, the Income Tax Department had raided the premises belonging to Mr. Shivakumar and later the Enforcement Directorate (ED) started its probe under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act based on materials unearthed during I-T raids. Following discovery of alleged disproportionate assets during its probe, the ED wrote to the State government for conduct of investigation under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The alleged disproportionate assets were for the period between 2013 and 2018, when Mr. Shivakumar was a Cabinet Minister.
Two separate single judges of the High Court last year had upheld the legality of registration of the FIR as well as the consent granted to the CBI. The State government withdrew consent when Mr. Shivakumar’s appeal against single judge’s order of upholding consent was pending before a Division Bench, which on November 29, 2023, permitted Mr. Shivakumar to withdraw both his petitions and the appeal against sanction as the sanction itself was withdrawn by the government.
