Delhi Court summons Karnataka Congress leader DK Shivakumar in money laundering case

A Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Court in Delhi on Tuesday summoned Karnataka Congress leader DK Shivakumar and others after taking cognisance of a money laundering charge in a case registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) [ED v. DK Shivakumar & Ors]..Shivakumar, 60, and four others were accordingly summoned by Special Judge Vikas Dhull to appear before the court on July 1.“…there is sufficient material on record to take cognisance of the offence under Section 3 read with Section 4 of the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) as all the accused persons knowingly assisted pursuant to criminal conspiracy in the concealment/possession of proceeds of crime i.e. unaccounted cash or in projecting it as their lawful business income,” the order stated taking cognisance of the offences in the ED chargesheet..The Court was also satisfied that the money laundering charge was prima facie made out solely on the basis of Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code being a scheduled offence and other offences of the Income Tax Act, 1961 not being scheduled offences. On this point, the Court relied on the Karnataka High Court’s decision in Sachin Narayan v. Income Tax Department..It is alleged that Shivakumar, while holding a public office in the Government of Karnataka, generated a huge amount of “illegal and unaccounted cash” and conspired with other co-accused persons to hide the tainted cash and evade payment of tax. This “tainted” cash was transported from Bangalore to Delhi, it was claimed..ED also pointed out that the Income Tax department had conducted a search and seizure operation on August 2, 2017 at the premises of Shivakumar and his associates and recovered unaccounted cash of ₹8.59 crore in New Delhi..Shivakumar was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on September 3 after undergoing four days of interrogation in relation to the case. The ED had cited Shivakumar’s non-cooperation during the questioning as the reason for his arrest.The ED case against DK Shivakumar stems from an income tax raid conducted in 2017. A money laundering case was registered against him pursuant to an ECIR on the basis of a complaint filed by the Income Tax authorities for offences punishable under Section 276C(1), 277 and 278 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 read with Section 193, 199 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.Shivakumar sought bail on the ground that the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case against him could not be sustained in view of the absence of a scheduled predicate offence.He has claimed that all his assets were duly declared in his income tax declarations as well as nomination affidavits, and there was no money laundering. .The Enforcement Directorate, on the other hand, sought the rejection of the bail plea on the ground that it was a “classic case of money laundering” which “affects the economy of the country”. It justified the initiation of the investigation under the PMLA on the ground that the Section 120B IPC, which is a predicate offence, is a scheduled offence under the PMLA.ED claimed that the assets and money owned by Shivakumar and his family were disproportionate to his income as an agriculturist and have been possessed by the misuse of public office.Claiming that the investigation in the case was ongoing, the ED had sought the refusal of bail to DK Shivakumar. It apprehended that if enlarged on bail, he would resort to evidence tampering and influencing witnesses..He was granted bail on October 23, 2019..[Read Order]