The Supreme Court on Monday declined to quash a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case against Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar concerning allegations of disproportionate assets. A bench comprising Justices Bela M Trivedi and S C Sharma decided not to interfere with the Karnataka High Court’s previous order.
The Supreme Court was hearing a plea filed by Shivakumar challenging the October 19, 2023, High Court order, which had rejected his plea to dismiss the case. The High Court had also directed the CBI to complete its investigation and submit a report within three months.
The CBI has accused Shivakumar of amassing wealth amounting to Rs 74.93 crore, which is disproportionate to his known sources of income during his tenure as the Energy Minister in the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government from April 1, 2013, to April 30, 2018.
The case originated from search operations conducted by the Income Tax Department at Shivakumar’s residence and offices in 2017. Following these searches, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) initiated a separate probe into Shivakumar’s finances. Based on the ED’s findings, the CBI sought and received sanction from the Karnataka state government on September 25, 2019, to register a case against Shivakumar. Subsequently, the CBI filed an FIR on October 3, 2020.
This latest Supreme Court decision means that the investigation will continue, further scrutinizing the financial activities of the Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister during the specified period.
