Karnataka withdraws general consent to CBI to investigate cases in state amid MUDA row

Bengaluru: The Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday withdrew the general consent given to CBI to investigate cases in the state, alleging that the central agency was being "misused".

The decision came a day after a special court ordered a probe by the Lokayukta police against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah into the alleged scam in the allotment of sites by MUDA.

It was also decided that henceforth all communication between the government and the Raj Bhavan should be vetted by the Cabinet.

Briefing reporters after the Cabinet meeting chaired by Siddaramaiah, Law & Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said the state government would decide on allowing CBI probe "case-by-case".

Patil asserted the Cabinet decision had nothing to do with the MUDA case and rejected the suggestion that the move was to preempt the possibility of a CBI probe into the case.

"The decision is a result of the central agency not being judicious in the use of its instrumentality," Patil said.

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.

Karnataka is the latest state to join the list of non-BJP-ruled states to have withdrawn the general consent to the central agency. Other states include West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Citing the case of illegal mining involving former BJP minister Gali Janardhana Reddy, Patil said there were umpteen cases where the CBI did not even file a charge sheet and added that the central agency was being "misused".

When asked if the Cabinet decision would still be applicable if a court ordered a CBI probe, Patil said: "Then the court's direction would have to be followed."

The Opposition BJP slammed the Cabinet decision. "To cover up scams tumbling out of the Congress' closet, the government has revoked the CBI's power. This will allow them to loot more," Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka said.

With regards to the Cabinet decision to vet all communication between the government and the Raj Bhavan, Patil blamed Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot of regularly writing "impatient" letters.

The Cabinet has directed all bureaucrats (heads of departments) to hereon send the information sought by Raj Bhavan for the Cabinet's scrutiny.

Patil also slammed the Governor for "illegally" holding documents for several months.

He was referring to Gehlot's missive to the government seeking an explanation on how information pertaining to Lokayukta's prosecution sanction requests against Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy and others was leaked.

The minister quoted a letter by the IGP of the Lokayukta-SIT to the Additional DGP (Law & Order), which stated that the documents related to prosecution sanctions were with the Raj Bhavan secretariat from November 24, 2023, to August 8, 2024.

Patil said a news channel had on August 7 aired the information related to pending prosecution sanctions at Raj Bhavan. But a letter dated July 29 from Raj Bhavan, seeking clarification along with documents, reached the Lokayukta police only on August 8, a day after the news channel's report.

"A probe into the events on those 10 days (July 29 to August 8) would identify the leakage point," Patil said.