Karnataka: Congress's Shivakumar stares at possible arrest as high court rejects plea to stay ED summons

Bengaluru: When Congress trouble-shooter DK Shivakumar lands in Delhi, a few minutes from now, his heart rate could increase, because he stands a very great chance of being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the PMLA case. 

Earlier today, the Karnataka high court refused to stay the fresh summons issued by the ED late last night. Though a battery of lawyers argued in favour of Shivakumar, the judge ruled against them, much to the gloom of the Congressman in question. 

Shivakumar is supposed to appear before the ED at around 6 pm. The investigation officer is Monica Sharma, Additional director, before whom he should appear. 

The arrest threat looms large in case Shivakumar doesn’t appear before the ED or he doesn’t cooperate or if the ED feels a custodial interrogation is absolutely necessary to extract more information on the issue. 

What one should also note is that ED issued summons late last night and asked him to appear at 1 pm today (August 30). It clearly shows that the arrest prospect looks extremely realistic. 
In case he is not arrested today, statements can be collected by Shivakumar tomorrow as well and can be arrested if ED feels it deems fit. 

In the event of Shivakumar’s arrest, his lawyer has to approach the high court or the Supreme Court for a bail. 

Also read: Facing threat of arrest, Congressman Shivakumar hints at party dumping him during difficult times

But starting today, there is a slew of holidays coming up. So the question of when to approach the court and when to seek bail, in the event of an arrest, looks confusing. 

Meanwhile, a local TV channel reported that Shivakumar spoke to his wife and children and did not mince words in telling them that “anything can happen” as he is flying to Delhi and the prospect of celebrating Ganesha festival on Monday looks bleak.

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