Want to offer 'sashtanga namaskara' to Supreme Court, says Shivakumar after ED case quashed
Bengaluru, March 5: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Tuesday said that he wants to offer "sashtanga namaskara" - a type of salutation where one lies flat on the stomach with all limbs touching the ground - to the Supreme Court after it quashed the ED case against him.
Talking to reporters, Shivakumar said that the news from the Supreme Court about the relief in the ED case was the biggest happy moment in his life amid the difficulties.
"The advocates are calling one after the other. I have not committed any mistake. The people are coming to know that the officers of ED had erred. I will narrate soon what the CBI is doing presently," he said.
"Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala and others were in the Supreme Court. There is nothing beyond the SC verdict. I went to jail with confidence, now also I have the same confidence. The CBI are torturing people around me. But, no one is the enemy here, this is all the rule of nature," he added.
The apex court on Tuesday quashed a money laundering probe initiated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against him.
A bench, headed by Justice Surya Kant, was hearing a special leave petition filed by the Congress leader against the Karnataka High Court decision refusing to quash the summons issued to him by the central agency.
The ED initiated a probe against Shivakumar, Haumanthaiah, an employee at Karnataka Bhavan in New Delhi, and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) based on the charge sheet filed by the Income Tax Department.
During the probe, the ED discovered approximately Rs 200 crore unaccounted cash belonging to Shivakumar and claimed that the money was parked in over 317 bank accounts across 20 banks, all under Shivakumar's control.
The ED also alleged the discovery of benami properties worth over Rs 800 crore linked to Shivakumar.
Shivakumar was arrested in this case on September 3, 2019. However, he was granted bail by the Delhi High Court in October 2019. In May 2022, the ED filed a charge sheet against him in the matter.
In his plea against the ED probe, Shivakumar contended that the offence of criminal conspiracy cannot be invoked in the absence of predicate offence and the offence under the Income Tax Act not being a scheduled offence, proceedings under the PML Act cannot be continued.