Kerala gold smuggling case: HC stays judicial probe against ED officials

According to the state government, two police officials who provided Swapna Suresh security while in judicial custody, had allegedly heard ED officials pressuring her to name CM Pinarayi.
Swapna Suresh being escorted to prison
Swapna Suresh being escorted to prison
Written by:

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday, August 11, stayed the order issued by the state government appointing a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) to look into any alleged attempt by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to implicate Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the gold smuggling case. The state government had alleged that a key accused in the case, Swapna Suresh was forced by the ED to give a statement against the CM. However, in an interim order, the HC stayed the judicial probe order against the ED stating that it would ‘derail the investigation’.

According to the state government, two women police officials who provided Swapna Suresh security while in judicial custody, had allegedly heard ED officials pressuring her to name CM Pinarayi. The Crime Branch registered a case on the allegation, following which the state government ordered a judicial probe.

The LDF government's May 7 notification appointing the CoI was stayed by Justice PB Suresh Kumar on a plea by the ED, represented by Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, which had contended that the state was "incompetent" to order such an inquiry as the subject matter fell in Central list of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution. The High Court said that in such matters if parallel inquiries are carried out, it would "impede and derail the investigation" in the case and that in turn would benefit the accused.

The SG had also told the High Court that since the subject matter of the inquiry relates to probe of offences by agencies authorised and empowered to conduct such investigation, "there cannot be any inquiry into the same by any authority other than the court under whose supervision the investigation was being conducted".

The CoI, headed by a former judge of the High Court, was appointed to inquire into any conspiracy to falsely implicate the leaders of the political front of the State, Justice Kumar noted in his interim order. The High Court said the question of conspiracy in a case of this nature has to be examined by the Special Court supervising the investigation.

"If parallel investigations and inquiries are conducted into questions of the said nature, I am of the prima facie view that the same would impede and derail the investigation and would ultimately go to the benefit of the accused, defeating the object of the legislation under which the accused are booked..In the said view of the matter, I am inclined to admit the writ petition and pass an interim order as prayed for in the matter," Justice Kumar said and stayed the May 7 notification.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The News Minute
www.thenewsminute.com