The disproportionate assets case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Congress leader D.K. Shivakumar and the subsequent raids on premises linked to him violate a recent order of the High Court of Karnataka, senior advocate and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) legal cell chief A.S. Ponnanna claimed on Monday.
“D.K. Shivakumar has challenged the State government’s September 25, 2019 order giving consent to the CBI to probe corruption allegations against him under Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946. The Karnataka High Court had given an interim order on September 30, 2020 stating that no further coercive action should be taken in the case till further orders. Thus, the CBI registering a case and the subsequent raids are in violation of this order,” he said.
Mr. Ponnanna reached Mr. Shivakumar’s Sadashivanagar residence as the CBI raids were on and tried to meet CBI officers to appraise them of the High Court order. However, he was not allowed in. Eventually, the KPCC legal cell submitted a copy of the order at the CBI office in Ganga Nagar.
However, sources in the CBI defended the bureau’s action, saying it was not a party to the writ petition and hence the order was not binding on it. However, Mr. Ponnanna said that since the writ petition had questioned the consent the State government had given for the CBI probe itself, the State government was party to the case and not the CBI.