The State Cabinet on Thursday decided that the earlier sanction given by the BJP government to hand over the case against Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as “not in accordance with law”.
With this decision, sources said, it is likely that the government will withdraw the permission accorded to the CBI in this case. Briefing reporters here after the Cabinet meeting, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H.K. Patil said: “The sanction to give the case to the CBI was taken after an oral direction from the then Chief Minister (B.S. Yediyurappa). The then Speaker’s sanction that is mandatory was not taken.”
Incidentally, Mr. Shivakumar was not present at the Cabinet meeting when the issue came up for discussion. The agency is currently investigating Mr. Shivakumar for allegedly possessing assets worth ₹74.93 crore disproportionate to his known sources of income during the period 2013-2018.
