SC Clears Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar in Money Laundering Case

The Supreme Court has quashed a 2018 money laundering case lodged against Karnataka’s Deputy Chief Minister, DK Shivakumar. This case, which led to the arrest of the congress leader by Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials in September 2019, had been a focal point of political controversy. Subsequently, the Delhi High Court granted him bail the following month, with Mr. Shivakumar asserting that the charges were part of a political vendetta orchestrated by the BJP.

The roots of the ED’s investigation trace back to Income Tax Department raids in 2017 on properties associated with the Congress leader and his associates. During these raids, officials claimed to have discovered cash amounting to nearly ₹300 crore. Mr. Shivakumar vehemently denied any wrongdoing and contended that the seized funds were connected to the BJP.

The Supreme Court’s recent decision rested on the determination that the question of whether Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) could constitute an independent predicate offense to empower the ED to invoke the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) had already been settled by the court.

Notably, in November of the previous year, the Supreme Court ruled that criminal conspiracy under Section 120B of the IPC would be treated as a scheduled offense under the PMLA only if the alleged conspiracy aimed to commit an offense listed in the Act’s schedule. This ruling has prompted the ED to seek a review, and the court has clarified that if the review is accepted, the agency is free to seek a recall of the current order.

In 2019, facing a summons from the ED, Mr. Shivakumar approached the Karnataka High Court in an attempt to have them dismissed. Finding no relief there, he escalated the matter to the Supreme Court, leading to the recent dismissal of the 2018 money laundering case against him.

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