Mon Sep 22 21:31:40 UTC 2025: ## Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to Karnataka’s Withdrawal of Consent in D.K. Shivakumar Assets Case
**NEW DELHI, September 23, 2025 (The Hindu)** – The Supreme Court announced on Monday, September 22, 2025, that a bench led by Justice Surya Kant will hear petitions challenging the Karnataka government’s decision to withdraw consent for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate a disproportionate assets case against Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.
Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai highlighted the prior involvement of Justice Kant’s bench in the case, indicating continuity in the judicial proceedings. The CBI filed the petition following the Congress-ruled Karnataka government’s decision to retract consent previously granted by the prior BJP administration. BJP leader Basanagouda R. Patil Yatnal also filed a separate petition with the top court on the same matter.
The CBI alleges that Mr. Shivakumar amassed assets disproportionate to his known income sources between 2013 and 2018, during his tenure as a Minister in the state. Notices were issued to both Mr. Shivakumar and the Karnataka government by a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan on September 17, 2024, in response to Mr. Patil’s initial plea.
The Karnataka government justified its withdrawal of consent by deeming the previous BJP government’s decision to grant consent to the CBI as legally flawed. However, the Karnataka High Court previously dismissed the CBI’s petition against the withdrawal, declaring it “non-maintainable” in August 2024.
The Supreme Court’s decision to hear the challenge sets the stage for further legal scrutiny of the case and the Karnataka government’s decision to limit the CBI’s investigative powers.
First Piper 