Siddaramaiah govt hands over corruption case against D K Shivakumar to Lokayukta: What explains the move?

The move to hand over the inquiry to the Lokayukta was acknowledged by Shivakumar himself this week after the CBI sent notices to Jai Hind Communications Pvt Ltd in Kerala, which runs a Congress-linked Malayalam television channel, for details of alleged investments made by him. “According to me, the government has handed over the case to Lokayukta but CBI is issuing notices and I do not know on what basis (this is done) when the entire permission to investigate is withdrawn and the HC has accepted it. I do not know how and in what manner they are issuing notices for information,” Shivakumar said on January 1.

He added, “A large number of people have been issued notices, including the sub registrar’s office, government offices, co-operative societies and individuals, after the government has withdrawn the permission from CBI and given it over to the Lokayukta. It shows they want to trouble me and the party. Some plot is going on.”

On Wednesday, the Deputy CM said he had not received any notice from the Lokayukta and that he would respond when he gets one.

The Siddaramaiah government’s move is being seen as one done to insulate Shivakumar from the central agency and prevent adverse reactions when the issue of the withdrawal of sanction to the CBI comes up in the courts.

In a November 23, 2023, Cabinet meeting, the government decided to withdraw the sanction that the BJP government had approved in September 2019. The formal order was issued on November 28 and has been challenged by a BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal in the High Court, with the matter due to be heard on January 5.

The BJP MLA has cited the Supreme Court ruling in the Khazi Lhendup Dorji vs CBI case from 1994 where the top court said that the revocation of consent for a CBI probe would not affect cases where investigations were already underway. Yatnal initially filed an intervening application in Shivakumar’s appeal challenging the sanction. But Shivakumar on November 29 withdrew the appeal following the government order on CBI sanction. That day, a Division Bench of the High Court rejected the CBI and Yatnal’s arguments opposing the withdrawal of consent, saying it must be challenged directly. The BJP MLA then challenged the state’s order.

Chronology of the case

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal who appeared on behalf of the state government told the court during the hearings in November that the process of inception of the CBI case against Shivakumar was not valid since the sanction for investigation was sought before the central agency registered an FIR.

The FIR against Shivakumar was filed in October 2020 on charges of corruption based on the findings of the I-T Department searches carried out in August 2017 at around 70 premises linked to the Congress leader. The CBI has alleged that Shivakumar amassed Rs 74.93 crore of wealth disproportionate to known sources of income from April 2013 to April 2018, when he was the energy minister in a Congress-led state government.

On April 20, 2023, a single-judge Bench of the High Court rejected the Congress leader’s plea for quashing the sanction saying that the state had only given its consent and not a formal sanction. On October 19, 2023, the court also rejected Shivakumar’s petition to quash the entire CBI case against him and gave the agency three months to complete investigations.

A section of the BJP saw the Siddaramaiah government’s decision to withdraw the CBI’s sanction for investigation as an effort to circumvent the court’s April 20 decision.

The I-T Department filed a complaint of tax evasion and false evidence against the Congress leader in 2018 after finding Rs 8.59 crore in cash at four Delhi properties linked to his associates. The findings led to the ED registering a money laundering case. The ED arrested Shivakumar in September 2019 and he was released on bail the following month. The ED wrote to the Karnataka government to examine the possibility of corruption in the money laundering case by ordering a CBI probe.

Shivakumar became the state Congress president in March 2020 and is expected to be in line to be the CM in the future.

Shivakumar declared assets to the tune of Rs 1,214 crore for the 2023 Assembly polls, which was a 44% increase in his assets from 2018. Between 2013 and 2018, when he was the energy minister, Shivakumar reported a massive Rs 589 crore increase in his wealth. He has often claimed that his wealth has accrued from land holdings and businesses, including real estate, education and mining.

Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, meanwhile, are slated to travel to Delhi on Thursday. “We will most likely discuss parliament elections and probably appointments to boards and corporations,” the CM said Wednesday.