Lokayukta Police, who regained powers to probe cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 after the abolition of the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) in September 2022, have registered 218 Disproportionate Assets (DA) cases and raided 219 State Government officials in Karnataka since 2023.
Raids in DA cases between January 1, 2023 and July 31, 2025
| 218 cases against 219 State Government officials |
| 150 cases | Recommended further action to competent authorities | |
| 113 cases | Under investigation | |
| 67 cases | High Court has stayed proceedings | |
| 34 cases | High Court has quashed FIRs | |
| 4 cases | Got sanction for prosecution in 2 cases, 2 more pending before govt | |
| 82 officials | Suspended |
However, nearly half of these cases are stuck in legal challenges, according to data tabled by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the Karnataka Legislative Council in response to two questions raised by MLCs C. T. Ravi and D. S. Arun.
Of the 218 DA cases registered by the Lokayukta Police during this period, 101 cases (46.3%) have been stuck in legal challenges while the High Court of Karnataka has stayed proceedings in 67 cases and quashed FIRs in 34 cases.
A senior Lokayukta Police official said that most of the 101 cases have either been stayed or quashed on ‘technical grounds’.
“A Superintendent of Police (SP) rank officer needs to give an order under Section 17 of PC Act, 1988 to investigate the DA case against a particular officer. The court has, in many cases, found fault in an SP giving an order to lodge an FIR and investigate in a single order, and not sequentially. In some cases, they have also said that the SP has to record in detail in the order as to why a particular case is being assigned to a particular officer,” a senior official said.
The Lokayukta Police have challenged all these orders in the Supreme Court of India.
“We have already got favourable orders in a few cases, but many cases are yet to come up for hearing before the apex court. We are confident of clearing these legal challenges, but it will take time,” the officer said.
Delay in investigation
The data shows that of the 218 cases registered since 2023, the Lokayukta Police have completed investigation in only four cases and sought Sanction for Prosecution in them, of which the government has granted the same in two cases and the request is pending in the remaining two.
Explaining the delay in investigation, a senior Lokayukta Police official said that they inherited 1,300-plus cases from the ACB in 2022. Investigation into those cases, and the new cases were being done simultaneously, leading to delay.
Lack of action by competent authorities
Lokayukta Police have submitted preliminary reports to the competent authorities concerned for further action in 150 cases. But of them, only 82 officials have been suspended.
“In many departments, even after raids and our reports, officials are not even suspended. This has been the case for many years,” a senior official said.
UDD and RDPR has most number of cases
Data shows that over the last two-and-a-half years, most raids have targeted officials from Urban Development Department (39 officials) and Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department (36 officials), followed by Revenue Department (20 officials) and Energy Departments (17 officials).
| Departments | Raids |
| Urban Development Department | 39 |
| Rural Development and Panchayat Raj | 36 |
| Revenue Department | 20 |
| Energy Department | 17 |
| Public Works Department | 12 |
No official from the Muzrai Department and the Municipal Administration Department has been raided during this period while one official from Women and Child Development Department and two each from Education Department, Horticulture Department and Labour Department have been raided.
This is no indication of the prevalence or the lack of corruption in these respective departments, a senior Lokayukta Police official said.
Districts with most number of DA raids
| Bengaluru City | 45 |
| Belagavi | 11 |
| Tumakuru | 10 |
| Mysuru | 10 |
| Kalaburagi | 10 |
“Our field units, based on the information they receive, carry out preliminary investigations and submit reports on particular officers, based on which DA cases are booked and raids conducted. More raids being conducted on officials of a particular department is a function of focus on a particular department by our field officers. We have been nudging them to diversify their focus and also work on senior officials, as presently the focus is mainly on mid-ranking officials. For instance, in the 218 cases, only one All India Services officer has been raided,” the official said.
The data shows that most number of DA cases were booked in Bengaluru city, the administrative capital of Karnataka. This was followed by Belagavi, Tumakuru, Mysuru and Kalaburagi districts.
Published – August 16, 2025 05:18 pm IST
