Today, On 29th August, The Karnataka High Court dismissed a CBI petition challenging the prohibition on investigating DK Shivakumar, ruling that the matter should be addressed by the Supreme Court. The bench, comprising Justices K Somashekhar and Umesh Adiga, noted that the case involves a dispute between the Central government and the state, as it concerns a central agency.
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court, On Thursday, dismissed two petitions challenging the Congress-led state government’s decision to withdraw consent for a CBI investigation into Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.
A bench comprising Justices K Somashekhar and Umesh Adiga ruled that the matter is a Centre-State dispute, as it involves a central agency, and should therefore be addressed by the Supreme Court.
The petitions dismissed on the grounds of maintainability, with the Court opting not to examine the merits of the case.
The Court stated,
“The Court, after thoroughly examining the arguments and relevant legal provisions, concludes that this dispute is between the State and the CBI. The issue pertains to the Centre’s authority to deploy the CBI in a state that has legally revoked its consent. These writ petitions are not maintainable. Disputes involving the autonomy of the State and the authority of the Central government are more appropriately addressed by the Supreme Court. Therefore, both writ petitions are dismissed as not maintainable,”
The Court addressing two petitions one filed by BJP MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal and the other by the CBI both challenging the State’s decision to revoke consent for a corruption investigation against DK Shivakumar.
The petitioners contested two key decisions made by the State government.
The first was the Congress government‘s decision on November 28, 2023, to withdraw consent for a CBI investigation into the alleged illegal assets of DK Shivakumar. The second was the State’s order on December 26, 2023, to refer the case to the Karnataka Lokayukta for investigation.
During the proceedings, Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi represented Shivakumar. They argued that the previous BJP government’s consent for the CBI probe was given with malafide intent, and that allowing the CBI to conduct the investigation based on a now-void consent breached federal principles.
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On September 25, 2019, the BJP-led government in Karnataka granted the CBI permission to register a first information report (FIR) against Shivakumar in connection with allegations of corruption and possessing disproportionate assets. Shivakumar subsequently filed a writ petition before a single-judge bench of the High Court, challenging the FIR. The petition dismissed on April 4, 2023, prompting Shivakumar to appeal before a division bench.
In the interim, the Congress party came to power in Karnataka in May 2023. On November 28, 2023, the newly elected government withdrew the consent previously granted to the CBI for the investigation. By this time, Shivakumar had also been appointed as the Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka.