DK Shivakumar's petition challenging CBI FIR dismissed by SC

D K Shivakumar. File Pic

In a setback to Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, the Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition filed by him challenging the CBI's FIR against the Congress leader in the disproportionate assets case.

A bench of justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma said it was not inclined to interfere with the Karnataka High Court order.

"Sorry. Dismissed," the bench said.

As the hearing commenced, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Shivakumar, submitted that the investigation in the matter started without obtaining the sanction under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Rohatgi said there cannot be a CBI FIR for the same transaction when the Income Tax (IT) department is already investigating the matter.

The bench, however, declined to entertain the matter.

The top court was hearing a plea filed by Shivakumar against the October 19, 2023 order of the high court which rejected his plea.

The high court had directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conclude the investigation and file the report within three months.

The CBI alleged that Shivakumar amassed assets disproportionate to his known sources of income between 2013 and 2018. He was a minister in the previous Congress government during this period.

The FIR was filed by the CBI on September 3, 2020. Shivakumar challenged the FIR in the high court in 2021.

The IT department had conducted a search and seizure operation in the offices and residence of Shivakumar in 2017, based on which the Enforcement Directorate (ED) started its own probe against him.

Based on the ED investigation, the CBI sought sanction from the state government to file an FIR against him. The sanction was granted by the state government on September 25, 2019 and the FIR was filed a year later.

Shivakumar had challenged the sanction granted by the state in a separate petition which was dismissed by the high court earlier.

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