ED summons DK Shivakumar in money-laundering case yet again

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued a fresh summons to Karnataka Congress leader D K Shivakumar, who was allegedly involved in a money-laundering case and is currently out on bail.

The summons directed him to appear before the ED on January 13.

On September 3, the ED had arrested Shivakumar under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and sent him to Tihar jail on September 19. The case was registered based on a charge sheet (prosecution complaint) filed by the Income Tax Department on charges of alleged tax evasion and hawala transactions worth crores of rupees.

Also read: Here are the murky details that landed Shivakumar in trouble

Shivakumar was remanded to judicial custody for more than a month. His arrest triggered criticism from Congress leaders who termed it ‘vendetta politics’.

The Delhi High Court later granted him interim bail on October 23.

The ED had also sent notices to Usha Shivakumar, Shivakumar’s wife and his mother Gowramma Kempe Gowda to appear before the agency and explain their source of income since their assets had grown multifold in recent years.

Also read: Supreme Court dismisses ED plea challenging bail to D K Shivakumar

The Delhi High Court in December adjourned the hearing of a petition filed by the family, pleading to quash the summons issued by the ED, to January 15.

The High Court granting bail to Shivakumar was challenged by the ED in the Supreme Court, which pulled up the agency for replicating the petition filed against former Union Minister P Chidambaram, who was jailed in August.

Shivakumar is seen as a frontrunner for the Karnataka Congress party president post, which remains vacant after Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president Dinesh Gundu Rao resigned following a poor show in the by-elections held last year.