Money laundering case: Delhi court allows Karnataka Dy CM DK Shivakumar to travel abroad
New Delhi, Nov 27: A Delhi court has allowed Karnataka deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar, accused in money laundering case, to travel abroad.
Special Judge Vikas Dhull allowed Congress member Shivakumar to travel to Dubai from November 29 to December 3 on an application moved by him.
The application claimed that he was invited by His Excellency Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, COP28 President-Designate, and Michael R Bloomberg, United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solution, to attend the upcoming COP28 Local Climate Action Summit in Dubai, which is an annual international climate summit convened by the United Nations.
"It is a settled principle of law that right to travel abroad is part of personal liberty as per Article 21 of the Constitution of India. However, such right is not unfettered and reasonable restriction can be imposed upon the same. One of the restrictions which can be imposed is to curb the said right during the course of investigation or trial if it appears that accused is likely to abscond and will not be available to face the trial," the judge said in an order passed on November 25.
Noting that the accused was eight-time MLA from Karnataka, where he is currently serving as a deputy chief minister, the judge said that the possibility of him fleeing from India was quite remote.
"In the facts and circumstances, there is no impediment in allowing the application of applicant. Hence the application filed by Shivakumar seeking permission to travel abroad is allowed and he is permitted to travel to Dubai with effect from November 29, 2023 till December 3, 2023," the judge said.
The judge, however, put several conditions on the accused, including that he furnishes an FDR of Rs 5 lakh in his name before the court prior to his travel and files his complete travel itinerary, along with a telephone or mobile number.
"Accused shall not try to contact any of co-accused or try to influence any of the witnesses connected with the present case while travelling abroad," the judge said.
Shivakumar was granted bail on October 23, 2019 by Delhi High Court, with the condition that he will not leave the country without the permission of the court.
The application claimed that the accused had on several occasions travelled abroad and returned to India and was not a flight risk.
It was further submitted in the plea that the investigation was complete and prosecution complaint was already filed before the court.
It was further submitted that applicant has no criminal antecedents.
"Thus, there is no likelihood that applicant will commit any offence or tamper with the evidence or influence any witnesses," the application claimed.
The ED opposed the application, claiming that the accused was involved in a criminal conspiracy to move tainted cash and hide the source of such cash with active participation and help of the other accused.
Shivakumar was booked for alleged offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The case was based on a charge sheet filed by the Income Tax Department in 2018 before a special court in Bengaluru on charges of alleged tax evasion and 'hawala' transactions worth crores of rupees.
The IT department had accused Shivakumar and his alleged associate S K Sharma of indulging in transactions involving huge amounts of unaccounted for money on a regular basis through 'hawala' channels with the help of three other accused.
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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.
