Shivakumar Disproportionate Assets Case: BJP MLA Moves HC Against State’s Decision

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal has moved the Karnataka High Court to challenged the decision made by the Karnataka government to revoke the consent previously granted to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for probing the disproportionate assets case involving Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.

Justice M Nagaprasanna is expected to address the matter regarding its maintainability on December 15.

On September 25, 2019, the BJP government in Karnataka had sanctioned the CBI to file a first information report (FIR) against Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar in the aforementioned case.

Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar filed a writ petition challenging this decision before a single-judge bench of the Karnataka High Court.

On April 4, the plea was dismissed, prompting which, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar escalate the matter to a Division Bench.

Subsequently, following the change in government to Congress in May, the State government, on November 28, withdrew the earlier granted consent for a CBI investigation.

Consequent to this withdrawal, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar was permitted by the High Court to retract his plea, which had become moot.

Discontented with this development, MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal has now approached the High Court.

According to MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal, the State’s order is deemed ‘highly illegal’ and ‘not worth the paper on which it is printed,’ citing a conflict with the legal precedent set by the Supreme Court in Kazi Lhendup Dorji vs CBI.

MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal seeks the annulment of the order retracting CBI consent and requests the court to instruct the CBI to resume the investigation against Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.

The plea contends that regardless of the legality of the order, the investigation must be concluded.