Supreme Court Grills BJP MLA Over CBI Investigation Roadblock

The Supreme Court scrutinized BJP MLA Basangouda R Patil regarding his objection to the withdrawal of consent for a CBI investigation into a disproportionate assets case against Karnataka Deputy CM D K Shivakumar. Patil seeks to overturn a state government decision barring the probe, potentially for political reasons.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday raised questions regarding BJP MLA Basangouda R Patil's challenge to the withdrawal of consent given to the CBI for probing a disproportionate assets case against Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar.

Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh, examining Patil's intentions, queried senior advocate K Parmeswar on whether the appeal was politically motivated. The court session saw Parmeswar defend the move as non-political, citing a pending counter affidavit from the state and the CBI's interest in the case.

The controversy stems from the Karnataka High Court's August 2024 decision deeming Patil's challenge non-maintainable. The CBI accuses Shivakumar of acquiring assets beyond his income from 2013-2018. The state's latest decision to retract consent to investigate the case has ignited political tensions.

(With inputs from agencies.)