K’taka cabinet withdraws consent to CBI inquiry against Deputy CM Shivakumar

Bengaluru, Nov 24: The Karnataka government has decided to withdraw the permission granted for a CBI investigation into the disproportionate assets case against Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.

The decision was made during a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday.

Minister of Law and Parliamentary Affairs H.K. Patil, speaking to the media, said that the cabinet has approved the withdrawal of the decision for a CBI probe against Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar.

"The previous Chief Minister had given oral orders for a CBI investigation against Shivakumar. According to legal procedure, they should have obtained consent from the Speaker. Without obtaining the Speaker's consent, the former CM had orally ordered a CBI probe. Considering the opinions of the former and present Advocate Generals (AGs), this decision has been made. The earlier decision to hand over the case to the CBI probe was deemed unlawful as consent from the Speaker was not obtained," he said.

"The former AG had opined that the case was not suitable for a CBI probe. The previous BJP government, disregarding this opinion, had given consent. Based on the former AG's opinion, the current AG, Shashikiran Shetty, also gave his opinion," Patil added.

The Congress government argued that to date, 577 cases of disproportionate assets case have been registered in the state, and not a single case has been handed over to the CBI. Local police have conducted investigations in these cases.

Reacting to the cabinet's decision, Leader of Opposition R. Ashoka said: "The case is before the court, and it (the decision) is against the law. An appeal was made against handing over the case to the CBI. The decision to withdraw permission for a CBI probe against Shivakumar before the judgment is given is incorrect. Whenever there is a change of government, everyone will do the same."