On Wednesday, the Karnataka High Court, headed by a division bench of Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice Krishna S Dixit passed the order allowing Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar to withdraw both his petition and the writ appeal challenging the sanction granted by the previous BJP government to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The sanction would have allowed CBI to prosecute him for allegedly possessing assets disproportionate to his known source of income under the Prevention of Corruption Act, the sanction had been withdrawn by the current Congress government led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
The High Court order permitted Shivakumar to withdraw the petition and appeal after the senior advocate Kapil Sibal and Advocate General Shashikiran Shetty placed before the court a notification dated November 28, 2023, issued by the state government withdrawing the sanction dated September 25, 2019, given by the previous BJP government, subsequent to the decision taken in the cabinet to withdraw the sanction.
The Bench also said that it was not making any observation on the correctness or legality of the November 28 order of withdrawal of sanction/consent as it had not been challenged before it.
Disproportionate Assets Case: High Court Permits #DKShivakumar To Withdraw Challenge After Karnataka Govt Withdraws Consent For CBI Probe | @plumbermushi https://t.co/0jU3PzOaEJ
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) November 29, 2023
However, advocate P. Prasanna Kumar, appearing for the CBI, said that he had no objection to the withdrawal of the writ appeal but had objections to permitting the withdrawal of the writ petition itself. The CBI’s counsel said that withdrawal of sanction/consent would not affect the First Information Report (FIR) already registered in terms of the law laid down by the Supreme Court in its 1994 judgment in the case of Kazi Lhendup Dorji Vs CBI.
Even, advocate Venkatesh P Dalwai, who represents senior BJP MLA Basanagouda R Patil Yatnal, opposed the state government’s decision to withdraw consent regarding the issue of sanction withdrawal. Dalwai argued that the government should not have withdrawn the consent, as it goes against the legal principles established by the apex court.
Also Read: Karnataka: Cabinet Withdraws Consent To CBI In DK Shivakumar’s Disproportionate Assets Case
Shivakumar refuses to comment on the High Court order:
Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Wednesday refused to comment on the Karnataka High Court order on disproportionate assets case to the tune of 74.93 crore rupees.
When asked for his response on the High Court order, he said: “I do not want to comment on court matters without going through the order and discussing it with my lawyers. I was at the tech summit and I am not aware of the High Court order.”
“I haven’t done anything wrong. I was given all this trouble because I stood by my party. Media is aware of all the developments. For all the troubles they gave me, people have answered them in Karnataka. If they give me more trouble in the future, the people are there and God is there,” he said.
