K’taka HC rejects DyCM Shivakumar’s petition seeking quashing of CBI probe

Bengaluru, Oct 19: In a setback to Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka D.K. Shivakumar, who is also the state chief of Congress, the high court on Thursday rejected his petition seeking quashing of the CBI proceedings against him. The court also lifted the stay order issued on the CBI probe against him.

The Karnataka High Court bench headed by Justice K. Natarajan directed the CBI to complete the probe in three months. The development is considered to be a serious setback to Shivakumar who has been aggressively taking on the opposition parties BJP and JD(S) in the state.

The CBI had filed a criminal case under the Sections of 13 (2) and 13 (1)E of the Prevention of Corruption Act alleging that Shivakumar had amassed assets disproportionate to his income between 2018 and 2023. Shivakumar had appealed against the case in the high court.

The high court had earlier issued a stay on the case and extended the stay order many times. According to sources, the CBI will now move to the court seeking cancellation of bail of Shivakumar.

Former CM H.D. Kumaraswamy and BJP State President Nalin Kumar Kateel had stated that Shivakumar would land up in Tihar Jail once again. Shivakumar had replied that Kumarswamy and Kateel are not judges to send him to the prison. The Congress party had maintained that Shivakumar’s family had been tortured every day.