Amid MUDA row, Karnataka govt withdraws general consent to CBI to probe cases in State; alleges agency is ‘biased’

PTI, Sep 26, 2024, 7:26 PM IST

Bengaluru: Amid the MUDA land allotment row, the Karnataka government on Thursday withdrew general consent given to CBI to investigate cases in the State as it alleged that the agency was “biased”.

Announcing the decision after a cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said “it is clear that the CBI or the Central government while using their instrumentalities are not using them judiciously”.

The move comes amid demands by the opposition BJP to hand over the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment case to CBI.

Patil rejected suggestions that there was any connection between revoking the CBI’s permission to operate in the state and the allegations of illegalities in MUDA’s allotment of 14 sites to Siddaramaiah’s wife.

“The notification granting general consent for CBI to probe criminal cases in Karnataka state, under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, has been withdrawn,” Patil told reporters and added that permission will be given case-by-case basis to CBI to conduct investigation in the State.

According to section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) needs consent from the respective state governments to conduct investigations in their jurisdiction.

“It has been done because it is clear that the CBI or the central government while using their instrumentalities are not using them judiciously. So, case-by-case we will verify and give (consent for CBI probe), general consent has been withdrawn,” the law minister said.

He said: “We have seen that CBI works with prejudice…their conduct has led us to come to this decision….they are biased…, hence we have come to this decision.” Karnataka is the latest state to join the list of non-BJP-ruled states to have withdrawn the general consent to the CBI. Other states include West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

The Karnataka government’s decision came a day after a Special Court here on Wednesday ordered a Lokayukta police probe against Siddaramaiah in the MUDA case, setting the stage for registering an FIR against him.

The order of the Special Court Judge, Santhosh Gajanan Bhat, followed a single-judge bench of the High Court upholding the sanction granted by Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to conduct an investigation against Siddaramaiah on the allegations of illegalities in the allotment of 14 sites to his wife B M Parvathi by MUDA.

Asked whether this was being done to “shield” the Chief Minister, who is facing a probe in the MUDA site allotment case, Patil said: “On CM there is a court order for Lakayukta probe, so there is no such question.” He said concerns were expressed that CBI is “misused” in several cases.

Even in the cases that the state government had given to CBI or the agency had taken up, in several of them chargesheets were not filed, Patil said. “They (CBI) refused to file chargesheets, they refused to probe umpteen number of mining cases.” Asked whether the government has done this keeping in mind the demand for a CBI probe into the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribe Development Corporation fund misappropriation case by the BJP, the minister said: “It has nothing to do with it as the matter is in court, the court will decide.” State BJP President B Y Vijayendra said on Wednesday: “The Court might have asked Lokayukta police to probe, but we urge the CM — before he resigns — that he should order the investigation to be handed over to independent agency CBI, for free and impartial probe.” Reiterating that he will not resign, Siddaramaiah on Thursday again denied any wrongdoing in the allotment of 14 sites to his wife by the MUDA and termed the charges against him a “BJP conspiracy”.

Siddaramaiah also said he would wage a legal fight.