DK Shivakumar gets SC relief for now in assets case

Bengaluru: Even while KPCC president DK Shivakumar is battling his way to the Chief Minister’s post of Karnataka, he got a slight relief from the cases he was charged with by the CBI.

The hearing of the CBI petition challenging the Karnataka High Court's stay on the investigation into the illegal assets case against KPCC president DK Shivakumar has been adjourned. It will now be heard by the Supreme Court after July 14. However, the CBI declined to issue any interim order, providing temporary relief to the individual vying for the position of the Chief Minister in the state.

On Wednesday, a bench consisting of Justices BR Gavai and Sanjay Karol addressed the CBI petition. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing DK Shivakumar, informed the court that the case is scheduled for a hearing in the Karnataka High Court on May 23.

Consequently, the bench adjourned the case.

On February 10, the Karnataka High Court ordered a stay on the CBI investigation into the corruption case pertaining to DK Shivakumar’s disproportionate assets. Subsequently, the restraining order was extended multiple times. In 2017, the Income-Tax Department conducted a raid at DK Shivakumar’s residence, which led to an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate. Following the ED’s investigation, the CBI requested the state government’s permission to register an FIR against him.

The CBI received approval in September 2019, and on October 3, 2020, it registered a case against DK Shivakumar under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Shivakumar approached the Karnataka High Court, questioning the case and the investigation against him.

He alleged that, despite the case being filed in 2020, continuous issuance of notices is an attempt to psychologically pressure him ahead of the upcoming assembly elections. While the High Court stayed the CBI probe, it refused to cancel the permission granted for the investigation. Upon reviewing the CBI’s appeal, the Supreme Court determined that, as the summer vacation period of the High Court is concluding, it is appropriate to conduct the trial there.