CBI moves Supreme Court in DK Shivakumar assets case

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar finds himself in the eye of a legal storm once again, as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has moved the Supreme Court to challenge the state government’s decision to halt a probe into his disproportionate assets case.
The CBI had initially contested this move in the Karnataka High Court, but the court redirected the agency to seek redress from the Supreme Court.
The case in question revolves around allegations that Shivakumar amassed wealth beyond his known sources of income in 2020. The CBI claimed that Shivakumar amassed Rs 74 crore when he was a minister in the previous Congress government between 2013 and 2018.
In October 2020, the CBI filed an FIR against Shivakumar on charges of corruption, based on the findings of the Income Tax department’s searches at around 70 premises linked to him carried out in August 2017.
While the CBI had been conducting the investigation, the Karnataka government decided to withdraw the case and hand it over to the Lokayukta, a state anti-corruption body. This decision has led to a legal tug-of-war, with the CBI reluctant to get control of the investigation.

In response to this, speaking exclusively to India Today, Shivakumar said, “In the entire country, I’m the only politician that the CBI is probing. They love me a lot.”
He added that he has full faith in the judiciary and believes justice will ultimately be served. “The state government has the power to withdraw any case and hand over the probe to the Lokayukta, and they have exercised that right,” he said.
Meanwhile, another petitioner in the case, BJP’s firebrand leader Basangouda Patil Yatnal, has also approached the Supreme Court, challenging the High Court’s directive. Yatnal, a political opponent of Shivakumar, has been vocal in his demand for a thorough investigation by the CBI, accusing the state government of shielding the Deputy Chief Minister.