‘They are biased’: Karnataka govt withdraws general consent to CBI to probe cases in State

The minister added that the decision was taken on account of concerns over the misuse of CBI and central agencies by the central government.

“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for CBI to probe criminal cases in Karnataka state, under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, has been withdrawn,” Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said after a meeting of the Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

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

“In all the cases we have referred to the CBI, they have not filed chargesheets, leaving many cases pending. They have also refused to investigate several cases we have sent… There are numerous such instances… They are biased. That is why we are taking the decision,” he said.

Asked whether this was being done to “shield” the Chief Minister, who is facing a probe in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment case, Patil said: “On CM, there is a court order for Lakayukta probe, so there is no such question.”

In a setback for Siddaramaiah, a Bengaluru court ordered a Lokayukta inquiry into the MUDA “scam” on Wednesday, a day after the Karnataka High Court rejected his plea against the Governor’s sanction to investigate the allegations.

This order, pronounced by Judge Santhosh Gajanana Bhat, follows the high court’s decision to uphold the sanction granted by Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot to investigate alleged irregularities in the allotment of 14 plots to Siddaramaiah’s wife B M Parvathi by MUDA.

-With agency inputs