Karnataka Withdraws General Consent To CBI As Probe Against CM Siddaramaiah Continues In MUDA Land Case

A couple of days after the Karnataka High Court allowed the probe against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to continue, the state government decided to withdraw the general consent given to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

"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for CBI to probe criminal cases in Karnataka state, under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, has been withdrawn," Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said.

The decision was taken in a Cabinet meeting held under the chairmanship of Siddaramaiah as Karnataka's Congress government believes that the CBI is being used as an instrument by the BJP against opposition leaders.

Patil denied that this decision has anything to do with the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land case against Siddaramaiah as the CM comes under the Lokayukta probe.

Due to the withdrawal of general consent, the CBI will need case-by-case approval from the state government to conduct any investigation. The agency was accused of misusing its powers.

Patil mentioned that in numerous cases handed over to the CBI by the state government, or those the agency took up, chargesheets were not submitted and it refused to investigate numerous mining cases.