Bengaluru: Hours after Karnataka High Court quashed his petition seeking dismissal of CBI proceedings against him in a disproportionate assets case here, Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar on Thursday said the judiciary and his list of properties would expose BJP's conspiracy against him.
While interacting with reporters at the Bengaluru airport, Shivakumar said the probe agency has claimed that it has completed 90 per cent of the investigation.
"My wife, family members and me will have to explain about the properties owned by us. Strangely, without calling us and inquiring, how could they finish 90 per cent of the probe, I fail to understand," he stated.
"We had filed an appeal in the court that the FIR lodged by the CBI in this regard is wrong. The case was handed over to the CBI with ill intention during the tenure of former CM B.S. Yediyurappa government," he stated.
Shivakumar further expressed his complete faith in the courts. "I will give suitable answers at an appropriate time. Whatever may be the cause, I will face the investigation within the legal framework," he added.
Earlier in the day, the High Court rejected the state Congress chief's petition seeking quashing of the CBI proceedings against him. It also lifted the stay order issued on the CBI probe against him.
A bench headed by Justice K. Natarajan directed the CBI to complete the probe in three months.
The development is considered to be a serious setback to Shivakumar who has been aggressively taking on the opposition parties BJP and JD(S) in the state.
The CBI had filed a criminal case under Sections 13 (2) and 13 (1)E of the Prevention of Corruption Act alleging that Shivakumar had amassed assets disproportionate to his income between 2018 and 2023.
Shivakumar had appealed against the case in the high court. The high court had earlier issued a stay on the case and extended the stay order many times.
According to sources, the CBI will now move to the court seeking cancellation of bail of Shivakumar.
Former CM H.D. Kumaraswamy and BJP State President Nalin Kumar Kateel had stated that Shivakumar would land up in Tihar Jail once again. Shivakumar had replied that Kumarswamy and Kateel were not judges to send him to the prison.
The Congress party had maintained that Shivakumar’s family had been tortured every day.
With inputs from agencies