Supreme Court Dismisses CBI's Plea Against HC Stay On Probe Against Karnataka Dy CM DK Shivakumar; Leaves Matter Open To Be Decided By HC

A bench of Justices BR Gavai, CT Ravikumar, and Sanjay Kumar was hearing a plea assailing an interim order passed by a single-judge bench of the Karnataka High Court staying proceedings by the central agency against the Indian National Congress leader. This stay was extended a number of times, before the bench finally decided to dismiss the petition. Currently, the matter is pending in appeal before a division bench of the high court, which has also, in June, issued a stay on the CBI probe.

“There is a stay currently in operation which we have challenged in a separate petition,” Additional Solicitor-General SV Raju said, urging the bench to tag the two pleas together. He added, “If that is decided in my favour, this [stay] goes. This is not an independent order.”

Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, on behalf of Shivakumar, argued that the ‘interim ladders’ were unnecessary since the high court was on the threshold of finally deciding the litigation pending before it. The senior counsel said, “The present appeal is against an interim order which is succeeded by five other interim orders, which have not been challenged by Mr Raju. The matter was listed for CBI’s sur-rejoinder and would have been reserved if not for this. Arguments are over, counter is over. My client’s rejoinder is also over. This is on the threshold of being decided. Therefore, today’s interim ladder is completely unnecessary. We went to the writ appeal court and got an interim stay. [The CBI] has again challenged this interim order. He is filing a special leave petition against every interim ladder.”

Singhvi’s argument found favour with the bench which dismissed the special leave petition (SLP), saying:

“Since the present special leave petition arises out of purely an interlocutory order, we are not inclined to entertain the present petition. All questions available to parties are kept open for adjudication by the high court.”

When ASG Raju requested the apex court to urge the Karnataka High Court to decide Shivakumar’s appeal expeditiously, the bench added to its order, “The petitioner would be at liberty to request the high court for expeditious disposal which shall be considered by the high court on its own merits.”

Background

The interim stay order challenged in the Supreme Court arose in a Rs 74 crore disproportionate assets case against DK Shivakumar, in which the Central Bureau of Investigation had initiated an investigation in September 2019 after receiving sanction from the then BS Yediyurappa-led government. This was based on a 2017 Income Tax raid on Shivakumar’s offices and a subsequent probe by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). In October 2020, the Congress MLA was booked by the CBI under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Shivakumar moved the Karnataka High Court challenging the sanction and proceedings against him. In April, a single judge bench dismissed his petition, but during the course of the hearing, granted the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee chief temporary relief by staying the CBI probe on multiple occasions. These interim orders have been challenged by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the present appeal before the top court, although the hearing was adjourned in May.

In April, Justice K Natarajan of the Karnataka High Court ultimately dismissed Shivakumar’s plea leading to the legislator filing an appeal before a division bench of the high court. A bench of Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice MG S Kamal is currently hearing Shivakumar’s appeal. Last month, the order of the single-judge bench was stayed by the division bench of the Karnataka High Court.

Case Details

Central Bureau of Investigation v. DK Shivakumar | Special Leave Petition (Criminal) No. 5026-5030 of 2023