New Delhi: The Rouse Avenue court in New Delhi has granted 9-day custody of accused DK Shivakumar to the Enforcement Directorate (ED)

Appearing for accused DK Shivakumar, counsel Abhishek said that the entire issue was based on a complaint filed by the I-T department and the cash of Rs 8.5 crores (found in DK Shivakumar’s residence in New Delhi) was already impounded. Additionally, he said that his client had sincerely appeared whenever the summons was issued and there was no need for a custodial interrogation by the ED. 

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He also said that the ED had no jurisdiction over the issue as the case doesn’t fall under the PMLA and comes only under IT Act. 

Abhishek also compared the government to a dog and the ED to its tail, implying that the tail was being wagged based on the orders of the government. 

Another counsel for DK Shivakumar Dayan Krishnan, seconded Abhishek Singhvi’s view that the ED can’t investigate the matter. 

Earlier, the counsel for ED, Nataraj informed the court that he was not cooperating with the ED and therefore a custodial interrogation was essential. 

He also said that the accused was supposed to be quizzed with documents in the custody. 

The counsel also said that the case was fit to be tried under PMLA and sought a time of one week to file objection for DK Shivakumar’s bail. 

Earlier in the day, DK Shivakumar was kept at the RML hospital for treatment related to his low BP and high sugar levels. 

He was arrested on the evening of September 3 by the ED officials after four continuous days of interrogation. 

DK Shivakumar and his coterie have also been accused of transferring money through hawala channels.  

The I-T department filed a chargesheet in 2018 before a special court in Bengaluru on charges of alleged tax evasion and hawala transactions worth crores of rupees.

Also Read: DK Shivakumar arrest: Political leaders react to ED’s action while Congress workers vandalise buses

Understanding the seriousness of the case, DK Shivakumar approached the Karnataka high court seeking quashing of the ED summons. Though the high court stayed the summons for some time, ultimately, in its verdict last week, refused to quash the summons, therefore paving way for ED to re-issue summons to DK Shivakumar.