Karnataka withdraws general consent for CBI probe in all cases
BENGALURU: The Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday withdrew the general consent allowing the CBI to probe cases in the state, citing bias in favour of the Centre to target leaders from certain parties. This move comes amid shrill demands from various quarters, including the BJP, for the CBI to probe the allegedly illegal Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) sites allotment case against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his family.
This decision by the state cabinet makes Karnataka the latest state to join the list of non-BJP-ruled states — including West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu — to withdraw the general consent to the CBI.
It also comes two days after the Karnataka High Court gave its nod to Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot’s approval to conduct an investigation into the case after complaints were received by him seeking a probe, and a day after the Special Court to try cases against sitting and former MPs/MLAs ordered the Lokayukta police to investigate the allegations against Siddaramaiah and his family members about the alleged illegal allotment of the sites to the CM’s wife Parvathy BM by MUDA and submit a report to the court within three months.
Law Minister HK Patil told reporters after the cabinet meeting on Thursday that they decided to withdraw the general consent for CBI investigations in the state, as there were concerns of the bureau misusing it and not using its powers judiciously. “The notification granting general consent for the CBI to probe criminal cases in Karnataka, under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, has been withdrawn,” Patil said.
CBI is biased, agency misused in many cases: Patil
HK Patil added that permission from now on will be given only on a case-by-case basis for the Central agency to probe cases in the state.
Meanwhile, state BJP president BY Vijayendra said that although the court had asked the Lokayukta police to probe the MUDA site allotment case, the CM should order for the investigation to be handed over to the CBI for “free and impartial probe”.
Asked if the cabinet’s decision to withdraw the general consent to probe cases in the state was taken to shield the CM, as there were demands for the MUDA site allotment case to be handed over to the CBI, Patil said the special court had already ordered a Lokayukta probe and that the question (of handing the case over to the CBI) did not arise.
“We have made the decision. We are expressing our concerns that the CBI is misused in many cases,” he said, pointing out that in the last two years, the Central agency had shown its bias, even during the elections when only the office-bearers of one particular party were probed.
“Their behaviour shows they are biased and that is the reason for our decision,’’ he said, further claiming that the agencies used by the Centre were all biased. Consolidating the point, Patil said that even in cases that the state government gave consent to the CBI or those that the agency had taken up, many of them saw no chargesheets being filed, besides refusing to probe a number of mining cases which the state government had asked for.
Responding to a question whether the government had 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, Patil said it had nothing to do with it as the matter was in court.
He, however, said that if an order came from the court that the probe has to be handed over to the CBI, then the court order would matter and not the cabinet’s decision.
OTHER CABINET DECISIONS
A sum of Rs 500 crore approved to develop UVCE on par with IIT and it will come up on 50 acres of Jnana Bharathi campus of Bangalore University
As per the 15th Finance Commission grants of Rs 30 Crore, cabinet approved operating 76 electric buses under GCC Model (bus is owned, operated, and maintained by service providers) and Rs 25 crore for 51 AC buses
Cabinet approved to implement Technology Assisted Learning programme and establish computer labs in government high schools
Cabinet approved framing rules for Anand Marriage Act (for Sikhs)
Cabinet to decide on info sought by guv
The cabinet on Thursday decided that any information sought from the state government by the governor’s office will be first discussed in the cabinet, which will decide on the response to be sent to Raj Bhavan.
Koliwad tells Siddu to resign
While all legislators want Siddaramaiah to continue as CM, senior Congress leader KB Koliwad said, “Siddaramaiah should resign from his post to avoid embarrassment to the party.”