Bengaluru: Since assuming office, the Congress-led Karnataka government has increasingly relied on Special Investigation Teams (SITs) to probe a series of high-profile and politically sensitive cases. While the government maintains that SITs are necessary to ensure independent and thorough investigations, the opposition has accused it of overusing the mechanism, delaying justice, and incurring heavy expenditure from the public exchequer.
Data tabled in the Legislative Assembly by Home Minister G Parameshwara reveals that between April 1, 2023, and now, the state government has constituted SITs to investigate as many as 32 criminal cases. These include some of the most controversial matters in recent years, such as the Prajwal Revanna sexual abuse case, the BJP MLA Muniratna case, the Bitcoin scam, the Dharmasthala case, the Valmiki Development Corporation alleged scam, and the PSI recruitment irregularities.
According to the Home Department, several of these investigations are still at various stages, while charge sheets have been filed in a few cases. The BJP and other opposition parties have repeatedly alleged that the government is forming SITs for almost every politically sensitive issue to buy time and deflect accountability, rather than ensuring the swift completion of investigations.
The issue gained renewed attention during the ongoing legislature session in Belagavi after BJP MLA Muniratna raised an unstarred question in the Assembly seeking details on the number of SITs formed and the financial burden involved. In response, the Home Minister provided a detailed written reply outlining the scale of investigations and associated costs.
The government has not only constituted SITs but has also appointed special public prosecutors (SPPs) to argue these cases in lower courts, the High Court, and the Supreme Court. The Home Department disclosed that the state has so far spent approximately Rs 3.55 crore as remuneration to special prosecutors handling SIT-related cases.
The Prajwal Revanna case accounts for the single largest share of this expenditure. Senior advocate Prof. Ravivarma Kumar, appointed as SPP in the case, has been paid around Rs 2.41 crore so far. His fee structure includes Rs 1 lakh as conference fee, Rs 2 lakh for settling pleadings, Rs 5 lakh per effective hearing, Rs 2 lakh per non-effective hearing, and an additional 10 per cent of the total fee towards clerical charges.
In the same case, senior advocate Kapil Sibal has reportedly been paid Rs 15.50 lakh per appearance. Another special prosecutor, B N Jagadish, has received Rs 28.37 lakh. At the same time, government advocates B N Jagadish and Ashok Nayak, who appeared before the magistrate and district sessions court, were jointly paid Rs 12.70 lakh.
In the Bitcoin scam case, SPP P Prasanna Kumar was paid Rs 15.79 lakh for arguments in the lower court. For proceedings before the High Court, Prasanna Kumar and B N Jagadish received Rs 13.05 lakh and Rs 91,000, respectively. In the Valmiki Development Corporation case, Rs 7.28 lakh was paid to B N Jagadish for representing the government before the trial court. In the Muniratna case, advocate C S Pradeep was paid Rs 21.08 lakh for appearances in lower courts.
Apart from legal fees, the government has also incurred expenses directly linked to SIT operations. Between 2023–24 and 2025–26, Rs 39.98 lakh has been spent on the Bitcoin scam SIT, Rs 33.91 lakh on the Prajwal Revanna SIT, Rs 23.52 lakh on the Muniratna case SIT, and Rs 1.55 lakh on the Valmiki Development Corporation case SIT.
