Disproportionate assets case: Karnataka HC permits D.K. Shivakumar to take back his pleas after withdrawal of consent given to CBI for probe

Disproportionate assets case: The Karnataka HC on Wednesday permitted Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar to withdraw his pleas questioning the legality of sanction/consent granted to the CBI

 The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday permitted Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar to withdraw his pleas questioning the legality of sanction/consent granted to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on September 25, 2019 to investigate the ₹ 74.93-crore disproportionate assets case against him, after the State government on Tuesday withdrew the impugned sanction/consent .

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Prasanna B. Varale and Justice Krishna S. Dixit passed the order while disposing of the writ appeal filed by Mr. Shivakumar, who had challenged the April 20, 2023 verdict of a single judge, who had upheld the legality of the 2019 sanction. 

When the Bench took up the appeal for hearing on Wednesday, the State government submitted a copy of the Government Order of November 28 withdrawing the consent .  

Meanwhile, Mr. Shivakumar’s counsel too submitted a memo seeking permission to withdraw both the writ petition filed in 2020 challenging the sanction/consent granted in 2019 and the writ appeal filed by him against the single judge’s April 30, 2023 verdict of dismissing his petition and upholding the legality of sanction/consent.

Senior Advocates Abhishek Singhvi and Uday Holla said that the writ petition and writ appeal had become infructuous as the September 25, 2019 sanction/consent was no more in existence in view of its withdrawal by the State government .

However, advocate P. Prasanna Kumar, appearing for the CBI, said that he had no objection for withdrawal of the writ appeal but had objections for permitting withdrawal of the writ petition itself. The CBI’s counsel said that withdrawal of sanction/consent would not affect the First Information Report (FIR) already registered in terms of the law laid down by the Supreme Court in its 1994 judgement in the case of Kazi Lhendup Dorji Vs CBI.

Meanwhile, Advocate Venkatesh P. Dalwai, appearing for Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, BJP MLA, who wanted to intervene in the proceedings, opposed the withdrawal of pleas of Mr. Shivakumar saying that withdrawal of sanction/consent when the matter of sub-judice in the writ appeal amounted to ‘interference of the Government in judicial proceedings.’