Bengaluru : Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar was granted permission by the Karnataka High Court on Wednesday to dismiss his appeal against a single judge’s ruling authorizing the CBI to pursue him in an assets case.
The deputy CM filed an appeal against the earlier order, and the court granted him permission to withdraw the petition in a note.
The one-judge bench had declined to overturn the prior government’s approval of the CBI’s prosecution of him.
In his video conference defense of Shivakumar, senior attorney Abhishek Singhvi stated that the matter has become infructuous because the government in power has withdrawn the sanction in question, and as such, he is authorized to drop it.
“The practical issue is very simple. The Writ is filed challenging a sanction. Today, the sanction under challenge is withdrawn. Somebody will challenge, some will not (the sanction) but that is not of concern today. It (Appeal) is infructuous. It is liable to be allowed to be withdrawn,” he argued.
Karnataka cabinet headed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on November 23 held that the previous BJP government’s move to give consent to the CBI to investigate the disproportionate assets case against Shivakumar, also the State Congress president, was not in accordance with law and decided to withdraw the sanction.
In support of the state, another senior attorney, Kapil Sibal, contended that “we have withdrawn consent as of right now. The CBI may proceed if they believe they have jurisdiction. In my opinion, Section 6 of the Statute is extremely explicit. They are free to dispute it if they so choose. However, the Act does not grant them authority. They are free to contest their authority if they believe they have it (Statute). They do not, in my opinion, have jurisdiction.”
“Whether they can overcome the order of the single judge is the question,” contended the CBI’s attorney.
“Whether such an order (withdrawing consent) could be passed after a FIR is filed and investigation is going on.”
Additionally, the CBI attorney stated that the withdrawal of consent is “Prospective in nature and investigation already underway have to be completed” in accordance with a Supreme Court ruling.
But it needs to be contested, according to the Chief Justice Prasanna B. Varale and Justice Krishna S. Dixit’s bench. Someone can question the government’s command if they believe it to be unsustainable.”
The HC declared that it could not extend the appeal’s purview to determine the legality or illegality of the sanction’s removal. “It is not in our domain to ask the CBI why this order is not challenged,” the judge stated.
The counsels were given one hour to file a memo to withdraw the appeal. The HC is on a recess and is expected to give its order on the memo later in the day.
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. The agency also approached the Supreme Court which directed the HC to hear the application filed by the CBI seeking vacation of stay preferably within two weeks.
The Enforcement Directorate initiated its own investigation into Shivakumar in 2017 after the Income Tax Department searched his residence and workplaces.
The State Government granted the CBI permission to file a formal complaint against him on September 25, 2019, after the CBI requested permission based on the findings of the ED investigation. On October 3, 2020, the CBI had filed a formal complaint against Shivakumar.
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