In a major setback to former State Finance minister KM Mani, chairman of the Kerala Congress (M), third biggest constituent of the Congress-led ruling UDF, the Kerala High Court on Friday declined to stay the proceedings against him in the bar bribery case pending before the Special Vigilance Court in Thiruvananthapuram.
Mani, who is seeking election to the State Assembly from his home constituency, Pala, for the 13th time in the May 16polls, had in his petition before the High Court prayed for a stay on the proceedings against him in the case till the State police’s Crime Branch completed a probe ordered against a Vigilance official accused of holding a false probe against him.
Justice PD Rajan of the High Court rejected Mani’s prayer by observing that there was no situation that warranted its urgent consideration and pointing out that there were thousands of such petitions pending before the court. He deferred the plea to May 19 for consideration despite the repeated requests of Mani’s counsel to post the case to an earlier date.
Mani, who had celebrated the 50th anniversary of his legislative career last year, had on November 10 resigned as State Finance and law minister following adverse observations from the High Court in the case pertaining to the allegation that he had taken Rs 1 crore as bribe from the State’s bar owners promising them help in getting licences for reopening their closed bars.
The former minister had argued in his petition that Superintendent of Police (Vigilance) R Sukesan, the official who had probed the bribery charge against Mani, was accused of instigating Biju Ramesh, whistleblower in the bar bribery scam and working president of the Kerala Bar Hotels Association, to level charges against four ministers in relation to the scam.
The Vigilance case was filed on the basis of Biju Ramesh’s allegation. Declining to stay the Vigilance court proceedings against Mani, Justice Rajan unleashed scathing criticisms against the police for the manner in which investigation was being conducted against Sukesan and in the bar bribery scandal. He directed the police to submit a detailed affidavit over Mani’s plea.
In response to the contention of Mani’s counsel that the case against his client was false, the judge orally asked, “How can your own police initiate a false case against a powerful MinisterIJ” The Thiruvananthapuram court is scheduled to take up the case against Mani again on April 16, exactly a month before polling is to take place for the Assembly election.
The High Court judge came down heavily on the State police’s Crime Branch by pointing out that it had not been able to prove the conspiracy charge against Sukesan. At one point, the judge even asked whether the probe was meant just for creating a smokescreen and why there was no probe against Biju Ramesh when Sukesan was facing one.
The Government submitted in the court that the probe against Sukesan was in the initial stages and no substantial evidences against him had been recovered. The police produced a CD containing the alleged conversations between Biju and Sukesan but the judge asked what he was supposed to do with a CD that had not even been submitted to scientific examinations.
Despite the rejection of his plea for stay on the Vigilance court proceedings, Mani said that the High Court’s decision was no setback to him. “The only thing is that the case has not been stayed but the plea has been admitted. I am not saying anything more as the matter is in the court’s consideration,” he said.