The Karnataka government, which is currently ruled by the Congress party, has given approval to a proposal to withdraw a case handled by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, according to sources. The case pertains to allegations of disproportionate assets owned by Shivakumar.
The proposal, submitted by the home department, was presented to the state cabinet with the recommendation to transfer the investigation to either the state police or the anti-corruption authority Lokayukta. Now that the cabinet has cleared the proposal, the state government is considering approaching the court.
It is worth noting that the previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government had handed over the case to the CBI. However, Karnataka Advocate General K Shashi Kiran Shetty prepared the proposal to withdraw the case against Shivakumar.
In April of this year, Shivakumar had requested the Karnataka High Court to cancel the order issued by the Yeddyurappa government, but the court dismissed the request. The court stated that it would not interfere in the matter as the CBI was nearing completion of its investigation. The court granted the CBI a three-month period, until mid-January, to submit its report.
Subsequently, in September 2019, the CBI sought permission from the state government to file a First Information Report (FIR), which was granted by the Yeddyurappa government. The CBI then filed the FIR against Shivakumar in October 2020.
The outcome of this proposal to withdraw the case against Shivakumar will now depend on the court’s decision.
