Karnataka HC adjourns hearing in DA case against DK Shivakumar to Nov 29
Bengaluru, Nov 22: The High Court of Karnataka on Wednesday adjourned the hearing of the appeal filed by Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar against the sanction accorded by the previous government to the CBI to prosecute him in a disproportionate assets case, to November 29.
The division bench of Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice Krishna S Dixit adjourned the hearing after a joint memo was filed by Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, and senior counsel Uday Holla, who was appearing for Shivakumar.
On November 15, the CBI had informed the HC that the Supreme Court has directed the HC to hear the application filed by the investigating agency seeking vacation of stay granted on the appeal preferably within two weeks. The HC therefore fixed the date of hearing for November 22.
However on Wednesday, the ASG informed the court that the CBI would present its arguments on November 27, since he had another case before the Supreme Court at the same time. He submitted the counsel for the appellant could be allowed to present their case today itself.
The HC said that there would be no hearings on November 27.
Shivakumar's counsel Holla submitted that he needed only 30 minutes to argue the case and said he had no objection to adjourning the hearing.
The HC directed both the counsels to submit a joint memo for adjournment and then adjourned the hearing to November 29.
A single judge bench had earlier dismissed Shivakumar’s petition challenging the sanction of September 25, 2019 granted by the Government to prosecute him.
Shivakumar then challenged it before the division bench which had stayed the single judge order. The CBI had filed an application for vacation of this stay.
Based on the Income Tax Department's search operations in Shivakumar's home and offices in 2017, the Enforcement Directorate started its own probe against him. Based on the ED investigation, the CBI sought sanction from the State Government to file a FIR against him.
The State Government had given the sanction on September 25, 2019. The CBI had filed an FIR against him on October 3, 2020.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
