CBI loses general consent in Karnataka

The Cabinet decision comes amid calls for a CBI probe against CM Siddaramaiah in alleged irregularities in allotment of 14 MUDA sites to his wife in Mysuru; Law Minister H.K. Patil says decision not related to the MUDA probe

The Karnataka government on Thursday (September 26, 2024) termed “biased” the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probing various cases under the NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and decided to withdraw its earlier notification granting unrestricted permission to the agency to conduct probe in the State.

With this, Karnataka joins many non-BJP ruled States in withdrawing general consent for the CBI in recent years.

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The Cabinet decision came amid calls for a CBI probe against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the alleged irregularities in allotment of 14 MUDA sites to his wife in Mysuru, after a special court in Bengaluru on Wednesday (September 25, 2024) directed the Lokayukta to conduct an investigation. 

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‘Not linked to MUDA’

However, briefing decisions taken at a meeting presided over by Mr. Siddaramaiah, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H.K. Patil said, “This was a subject of discussion and not related to the MUDA probe. In the case of the Chief Minister, the Special Court has directed for a Lokayukta inquiry. The question of the withdrawal of open consent to the CBI is not linked to it.”

He said, “The blanket permission was given earlier. We did not stop it. But when we found that Raj Bhavan is misused, institutions are misused, we felt that we should be cautious... The CBI and the Centre have not been using their instrumentalities in a judicious manner. As a consequence, we have decided to grant consent to the CBI on a case-by-case basis after examination.”

Under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, the government had earlier granted the CBI permission to freely carry out criminal investigations in the State, Mr. Patil said.

‘No chargesheets filed’

Alleging that the CBI was being “misused”, he said that in some cases, when the agency was involved, no chargesheets were filed. “The outcome of an investigation depends on the chargesheet, and in many instances, the CBI has declined to file,” Mr. Patil said.

The Minister alleged that for the past 18 months, the CBI had been operating in a biased manner. “Only office-bearers from one political party are being probed, which demonstrates a prejudiced approach. This is one of the reasons for our decision... We have taken this decision to prevent them [CBI] from going down the wrong path,” Mr. Patil asserted.

In November 2023, the Congress government had decided to withdraw the consent given by the previous BJP government in September 2019, allowing the CBI to investigate corruption charges against Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar. It later referred the case to the Karnataka Lokayukta police for investigation.

Published - September 26, 2024 09:48 pm IST