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Karnataka HC rejects DK Shivakumar’s plea to quash disproportionate assets case
According to the CBI, between April 1, 2013 and April 30, 2018, Shivakumar and his family members were found in possession of disproportionate assets worth around Rs.74.8 crore which he has failed to explain with proper documents
In a setback to deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar, the Karnataka high court on Thursday dismissed his petition challenging a disproportionate assets case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against him.
Pronouncing the order, justice K Natarajan lifted the interim stay on a CBI probe and ordered the central agency to conclude the investigation and submit the final report within three months.
The court noted that the petition had been filed after a long delay and that most of the CBI’s investigation had already been completed.
In 2017, the Income Tax Department conducted a raid on premises belonging to Shivakumar and subsequently, a case was registered against him in the special court for economic offences. It is claimed that Rs.41 lakh was recovered from his premises. Based on this, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) started its probe and filed a case under Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Following the ED investigation, the CBI sought sanction from the state government to register a case against Shivakumar. The sanction for investigation was granted on September 25, 2019, and Shivakumar was booked by the central agency on October 3, 2020.
According to the CBI, between April 1, 2013 and April 30, 2018, Shivakumar and his family members were found in possession of disproportionate assets worth around Rs.74.8 crore which he has failed to explain with proper documents.
The CBI stated in its appeal to the Supreme Court that the total value of all his acquisitions marked a rise from ₹128 crore to ₹162 crore, showing a jump of nearly 45%.
On April 20 this year, the high court rejected Shivakumar’s plea against the state government’s decision to grant sanction for a CBI probe in the case.
This order was challenged by Shivakumar before a high court division bench of chief justice PB Varale and justice MGS Kamal, who ordered an interim stay on the CBI probe.
The verdict by the single-judge bench of the high court comes after the Supreme Court on Monday refused to vacate the interim stay on the CBI’s investigation into the case against Shivakumar.
A bench of justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi issued notice and posted the matter for further hearing on November 7
With the high court order, the stay on the CBI investigation has been lifted.
