Even as Karnataka requested to post the matter post-Deepavali vacation, the bench ordered that the matter would be listed on 10 November.
Published Nov 07, 2023 | 3:33 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 07, 2023 | 3:52 PM
The Income Tax Department conducted a raid against Shivakumar in 2017. (Twitter)
The Supreme Court on Tuesday, 7 November, adjourned till Friday the CBI plea challenging the Karnataka High Court’s interim order staying the investigation into an alleged graft and disproportionate assets case against state Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.
An advocate appearing for the Karnataka government requested to post the matter after the Deepavali vacation (after 19 November), but Justice Bela M Trivedi, heading a bench also comprising Justice PS Narasimha, ordered that the matter be listed on Friday (10 November).
The state government has sought time to file its reply to the probe agency’s plea.
Appearing for the CBI, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju told the bench that the entire investigation has been stayed based on a falsehood.
However, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Shivakumar, told the bench that the CBI had applied in the high court to vacate the order, putting the investigation on hold, and seeking time to file his reply.
The Supreme Court had, on 16 October, issued notice to Shivakumar on the CBI’s plea challenging the Karnataka High Court’s June 2023 interim order in the case.
Justice Aniruddha Bose said on 16 October: “We are not staying it ex-parte,” as ASG Raju had urged the bench to stay the high court order.
ASG Raju had told the bench that 90 percent of the probe in the case was already over and urged the bench to put on hold the high court order staying the investigation.
The Karnataka High Court had stayed the sanction granted by the state government for investigation in the alleged graft and disproportional assets case involving Shivakumar.
The controversy surrounding Shivakumar commenced in August 2017 when the Income Tax (I-T) Department raided his premises.
At that time, Shivakumar was safeguarding 44 Congress MLAs from Gujarat at a resort near Bengaluru, anticipating potential poaching attempts by the BJP before a Rajya Sabha election.
The I-T officials, accompanied by armed central police forces, entered the resort on 2 August 2017 and also executed searches at 67 locations linked to Shivakumar, his family, and friends nationwide.
The I-T Department reported discovering at least ₹9 crore unaccounted-for cash and attached properties worth crores for further investigation.
Based on the I-T chargesheet, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) initiated a money laundering probe against Shivakumar in 2018.
Approximately ten days after facing questioning by the ED officials, Shivakumar became the subject of CBI scrutiny.
Relying on the findings of the ED’s investigation, the CBI sought permission from the state government to file an FIR against the Congress state president.
The sanction was granted on 25 September 2019, and on 3 October 2020, Shivakumar was formally booked by the CBI under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
In September 2019, he was incarcerated in Tihar Jail but secured conditional bail from the Delhi High Court a few weeks later.
Shivakumar has consistently criticised the CBI’s actions, branding them as “mental harassment” and questioning their timing, particularly in the lead-up to the Karnataka Assembly polls.
He contends that the CBI, by issuing repeated notices, is applying undue pressure despite the case originating in 2020.
On 10 February 2023, the Karnataka High Court intervened, staying CBI proceedings in the corruption case against Shivakumar.
The court instructed the probe agency to furnish an action-taken report in the case registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act. This stay was subsequently extended on different dates.
The high court raised concerns about the CBI’s progress over the past two years, questioning when the final report would be filed.
As it adjourned the case, the court emphasised that the cases against Shivakumar dated back to 2020.
