The Supreme Court has refused to entertain a petition filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against a decision of the Karnataka High Court to grant interim stay to the probe against Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar in a disproportionate assets case.
“The impugned order (of the High Court) being interim in nature, we are not inclined to interfere with the same, more particularly when the petitioner - CBI - has already filed an application for vacation of the stay granted in the impugned order passed by the High Court, before the High Court,” a Bench headed by Justice Bela M. Trivedi observed in an order passed on Friday.
However, the court requested the High Court to hear and dispose of the application filed by the central investigating agency to lift the interim stay order.
“It is requested that the High Court may hear and dispose of the application filed by the CBI seeking vacation of stay and the appeal pending before it as expeditiously as possible and preferably within two weeks,” the apex court said.
The case related to a ₹ 74 crore disproportionate assets case instituted by the CBI in 2019. The then B.S. Yediyurappa government had granted the sanction for prosecution.
The allegations against Mr. Shivakumar was based on a raid conducted in Mr. Shivakumar’s offices followed by a probe by the Directorate of Enforcement.
The CBI had filed the case under the Prevention of Corruption Act in 2020.
