Last Update: May 17, 2023, 5:26 pm IST
The initial cases against DKS date back to 2012, when the Karnataka Lokayukta police booked the leader in two cases of corruption (Picture: News18)
Explained: All nine cases are currently pending as a challenge before the Supreme Court or High Court, with Shivakumar seeking quashing of the cases
Eight cases filed by the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Income Tax Department and the Karnataka Lokayukta, and one summons by the ED – these are the nine cases currently facing Congress chief ministerial candidate DK Shivakumar that have come as a hindrance to him. can act as Pitch for Karnataka CM’s chair
Interestingly, all these nine cases are currently pending as a challenge before the Supreme Court or High Court and Shivakumar is seeking quashing of these cases. News18 has reported how former CM Siddaramaiah has cited pending cases against Shivakumar to argue that he should not be made the CM, as central investigative agencies may soon be at his doorstep and the government in trouble. Will have to face But a closer look at the legal status of the cases reveals that Shivakumar is approaching the court to get these cases quashed.
The initial cases date back to 2012, in which the Karnataka Lokayukta police booked Shivakumar in two cases of corruption. Then BJP was in power in the state. But three years later, the High Court quashed both these cases in 2015. The Lokayukta challenged the verdict in the Supreme Court in 2016 but the Special Leave Petition (SLP) was withdrawn. In 2019, a petition was filed to restore that SLP – but no notice has been served to Shivakumar so far.
Shock to IT department
The Income Tax Department registered four cases against Shivakumar in 2018 when the Congress and the JD(S) were in power together. These cases were on charges of willful attempt to evade income tax and destruction of evidence. In one of these cases, Shivakumar filed an appeal before the High Court for acquittal, but it was dismissed in 2019. In 2020, Shivakumar went to the Supreme Court and since then a notice has been issued to the Income Tax Department by the apex court.
In three other IT cases, Shivakumar has a major victory as he was acquitted before framing of charges by a special court set up exclusively to deal with criminal cases related to MPs/MLAs in Karnataka. The IT department filed appeals in all three cases before the High Court, which was also dismissed by the court in 2021.
Eventually, the IT department went to the Supreme Court in 2021 for appeals in all the three cases, which are currently pending for decision.
Concern- ED and CBI
Shivakumar’s concern is with ED and CBI. The ED booked him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in 2018 and the case is pending before a special court in Delhi since 2022 but charges are yet to be framed. The case was born out of an earlier IT case that is ongoing against him. Shivakumar challenged the ED case in the Karnataka High Court through a writ petition, which was dismissed by the court in 2019. Subsequently, Shivakumar challenged the matter before the Supreme Court in 2019 and the decision is pending. In this case, ED had arrested Shivakumar in 2019 and he spent 50 days in jail.
In another PMLA case, the ED issued summons to Shivakumar to appear before the agency. Shivakumar, however, has challenged the summons by going to the Supreme Court in 2022, which is pending for decision.
The CBI booked Shivakumar in 2020 for corruption and disproportionate assets in a case in which framing of charges is still pending. The then BJP government in Karnataka had given sanction to the CBI to prosecute Shivakumar in the case, which was later challenged before the Karnataka High Court and the case is pending. Shivakumar had also filed a petition in the High Court last year to quash the said CBI FIR and the court has currently stayed the investigation pending the decision on Shivakumar’s plea.
