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The Karnataka High Court on Thursday delivered a significant ruling, dismissing as 'not maintainable' petitions that challenged the state government's withdrawal of consent for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar in a Rs 75 crore disproportionate assets case. The court asserted that the issues raised in the petitions required adjudication by the Supreme Court, as they concerned matters between the Centre and the state, falling under the purview of Article 131 of the Constitution.
The petitions, filed by the CBI and BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, contested the state government's order of November 28, 2023, revoking its consent to the central probe agency. A division bench comprising Justices K. Somashekar and Umesh M. Adiga reasoned that the dispute essentially involved a tussle between the state government and the CBI, which operates under the central government. The issues raised in the petitions involved interpreting statutory provisions such as the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, and their relationship with constitutional provisions concerning the division of powers between the Centre and the states.
The bench highlighted the crucial legal question at the heart of the dispute: the extent of the central government's authority to deploy the CBI within a state that has withdrawn its consent. The court emphasized that resolving this question would directly impact the legal rights and jurisdictions of both the central and state governments. It is noteworthy that the BJP government led by B.S. Yediyurappa had initially granted consent to the CBI to investigate the assets case against Shivakumar on September 25, 2019. Subsequently, on October 3, 2020, the CBI registered an FIR, alleging that Shivakumar and his family members possessed assets worth Rs 74.8 crore between April 1, 2013, and April 30, 2018, which they failed to explain with proper documentation. Following the Congress's ascendancy to power in Karnataka, the state withdrew its consent to the CBI. On December 22, 2023, the state government entrusted the FIR registered by the central agency to the Lokayukta police.