Karnataka high court allows Shivakumar to withdraw appeal on CBI probe

The development comes after the Karnataka government informed the high court of its decision to withdraw the consent for the CBI probe.

A division bench of the Karnataka high court on Wednesday allowed deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar to withdraw his appeal challenging a prior single-bench order refusing to quash the government’s sanction to a probe by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in a disproportionate assets case against him.

DK Shivakumar (PTI)

The development comes after the Karnataka government informed the high court of its decision to withdraw the consent for the CBI probe.

The bench of Chief Justice PB Varale and justice Krishna S Dixit acknowledged Shivakumar’s argument that the writ appeal has become obsolete, given the state cabinet’s withdrawal of consent for a CBI probe. “Since the appellant himself has filed a memo seeking withdrawal of the appeal.. the appeal is allowed to be withdrawn and disposed of,” the bench said.

The bench expressed concerns about the apparent influence of changing political regimes on such decisions. Chief Justice Varale questioned whether frequent alterations in policy with each change in government would compromise the continuity of governance. However, added that regardless of what the judges think, the bench has to proceed as per the law.

Advocate P Prasanna Kumar, who appeared for the CBI, did not oppose Shivakumar’s withdrawal of appeal or the consent withdrawal. He said that the CBI would adhere to the law but raised questions about halting the ongoing CBI probe.

According to the CBI’s counsel, once consent is granted and an investigation commences, withdrawing consent has no legal consequence. He 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 Kazi Lhendup Dorji Vs CBI case.

Advocate Venkatesh Dalaway, appearing for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, opposed the state’s decision to withdraw consent for the CBI probe. Yatnal, on Tuesday, had filed an interim petition before the high court challenging the Congress government’s recent decision to withdraw consent for the CBI probe. “My opposition is to the consent order, which is tailor-made to scuttle the investigation... The state acting like this is a serious concern. The appellant [Shivakumar] is not an ordinary man,” the bar and bench quoted the counsel as saying.

The high court, however, replied that if at all the state’s decision has to be challenged, it should be done in independent proceedings. “Though counsel [Venkatesh Dalaway] vehemently submits that the state ought not to have withdrawn the consent and such a course is not acceptable, in our opinion, we are unable to accept this submission for the simple reason for up-till now there is no challenge to the government’s subsequent decision,” the bench said.

Senior advocate AM Singhvi, representing Shivakumar, argued that challenging the state’s decision was not pertinent at the current stage. With the state’s sanction for a CBI probe no longer in force, Shivakumar’s appeal is considered obsolete and is eligible for withdrawal.

Responding to the CBI’s argument citing a 1994 SC judgment, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who represented the state government alongside Advocate General Shashi Kiran Shetty, said that the precedent cited by the CBI counsel was not relevant to the current scenario. Sibal asserted that the facts and circumstances surrounding the withdrawal of sanction/consent in the present case differed significantly from those in the Dorji case.

Despite concerns raised by the CBI’s counsel, the court clarified that it had only closed Shivakumar’s appeal, preserving the right for others to challenge the state’s withdrawal of consent for the CBI probe.

In response to the proceedings, Shivakumar refrained from commenting without information from his lawyers. He said that he had not committed any wrongdoing. “I only did the party work. I have suffered a lot of trouble for doing the party work. If they want to trouble me in the future too, there is God, and the people of the state are also there. You know what happened in the state, for troubling me (possibly indicating assembly poll results),” he said.

Regarding Yatnal’s intervention challenging the state government’s withdrawal of consent for the CBI probe, Shivakumar said that he would address comments and actions at the right time. “Let anyone do anything… I know who has said or commented what, and have observed them with utmost humility. I will respond to them at the right time, not now.”

BJP MLA and former home minister Araga Jnanendra said, “As per my understanding, today, the petition filed by DK Shivakumar against an earlier order has been withdrawn. So, there are many more legal proceedings pending. At the same time, the state government’s decision to withdraw the consent given to the CBI, when close to 90% of the investigation is complete, is wrong.”

The government is questioning the procedures followed by the previous BJP government in issuing these statements, said Congress minister and head of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) communications, Priyank Kharge. “There are seven requirements for a case to be transferred to the CBI. Was there an FIR against DK Shivakumar? No. Was the accused arrested? No. Were the local agencies like Lokayukta, CID, etc., incapable of probing the case? No. So, on what basis did they transfer the case to the CBI is what we are questioning,” he said.