DA Case: Matter is with Lokayukta, why CBI is serving notices, asks Shivakumar

The matter is presently lying before the larger bench of the Karnataka High Court.

Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress President D.K. Shivakumar on Tuesday objected to the action of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to issue notices in connection with the alleged Disproportionate Assets (DA) case, even as the case was handed over to the Lokayukta.

Speaking to reporters at the Vidhana Soudha here on Tuesday, Shivakumar said, “In spite of the withdrawal of the permission by the government to the CBI, hundreds of notices are issued to my organisations, friends, and places where I carried out business transactions.

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“I don’t know why they are issuing notices. The government had handed over the case to the Karnataka Lokayukta. The Lokayukta has filed an FIR with regard to the case. I will continue the legal fight. “What they are doing is incorrect. Though the government had referred the case to the CBI, I have not committed any crime. The act of handing over of the case by the BJP government headed by then CM B.S. Yediyurappa itself was wrong.”

 The Congress leader added: “Now, our government has withdrawn the case from the CBI and handed it over to the Lokayukta, which has filed an FIR. Let’s see. “Sources said the Lokayukta has asked the CBI to transfer all the files and documents related to the case. However, the CBI has contested the decision of the government in the court.

The matter is presently lying before the larger bench of the Karnataka High Court. BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil had also submitted a petition in this regard. The CBI had started a probe against Shivakumar in the an alleged DA case in 2020.

It was alleged that Shivakumar amassed properties worth Rs 74 crore between 2013 and 2018, which were deemed disproportionate against his known sources of income. The then BJP-led Karnataka government headed by Yediyurappa had handed over the case to the CBI.

The incumbent Siddaramaiah-led Congress government had withdrawn the consent to the CBI for a probe into the DA matter on November 28, 2023.