DK Shivakumar on Supreme Court's 'apology' in CBI case

Bangalore:

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has termed as “unfair” the Supreme Court’s dismissal of a petition challenging the CBI FIR against him in a disproportionate assets case.

“It’s a setback. What to do? It’s unfair,” the senior Congress leader told NDTV.

“I will look into all the legal aspects and see how I can file an appeal. Everyone knows how political and vindictive my issues are. When the BJP government was there, they gave (the CBI) permission to register an FIR. I requested that it be quashed but they said they cannot…”

“At the same time, the Karnataka government (after Congress came to power) withdrew the permission given to the CBI and transferred the case to the Lokayukta… so now the CBI is continuing to investigate. All this despite the government withdrawing its consent,” Shivakumar said.

Earlier in the day, a bench comprising Justice Bela Trivedi and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma said the petition lacked merit and there was no reason for it to intervene in the matter.

READ | ‘Sorry, fired’: DK Shivakumar faces setback in Supreme Court

Last year, the Congress withdrew its consent to the CBI probe. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah alleged that his predecessor, BJP’s BS Yediyurappa, had given the green light to the probe “illegally”. The decision was criticised by the BJP and the JDS, who called it an “immoral” move aimed at “protecting” Mr Shivakumar.

The CBI alleged that Mr Shivakumar had accumulated assets disproportionate to his known sources of income between 2013 and 2018. He was then a minister in the Congress government that preceded the BJP.

The amount in question is said to be Rs 74 crore.

The CBI filed its case in 2020. The FIR was challenged and dismissed by the High Court in 2021.

READ | CBI challenges K’taka govt’s decision on DK Shivakumar dispute

The High Court had also been approached by the CBI after the state government in November approved a proposal to withdraw the federal agency’s permission to investigate Mr Shivakumar. The High Court had lifted the state’s stay and directed the agency to submit a report within three months.

Meanwhile, on the sensitive issue of sharing of Cauvery waters, the deputy chief minister told NDTV: “I am happy to say that we are getting good rains. We should be in a better position in the coming days.”

The governments of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have been locked in a long-running battle over the sharing of the Cauvery River, which is considered a major source of livelihood for the people of both states.

Karnataka on Sunday decided to supply only 8,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu, instead of the 11,500 cusecs it is required to supply every day from July 12 to 31. The DMK, the ruling party in Tamil Nadu, which is allied with the Congress at the national and state levels, will hold its own all-party meeting on Tuesday. Chief Minister MK Stalin said the denial was in violation of the Supreme Court order.

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