Kerala HC stays judicial inquiry ordered by state against ED
KERALA GOVT ALSO FILED A CASE AGAINST ED OFFICIALS EARLIER, WHICH WAS QUASHED BY THE HIGH COURT IN APRIL
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM The Kerala high court on Wednesday stayed the judicial inquiry ordered by the state government against the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over its alleged attempt to implicate chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the July 2020 gold smuggling case.
The state government in May named former high court judge VK Mohanan to conduct the probe under the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952. It also filed a case against ED officials earlier, which was quashed by the high court in April.
Justice PB Suresh Kumar issued the stay order and notices to Vijayan, the state government and and central government.
Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the ED, told the court the state government’s decision to order the inquiry against a central agency was against the federal norms and Section 3 of the Commission of Inquiry Act. He added the section says an inquiry can be constituted only for the purpose of a matter of public importance. Mehta said the inquiry was constituted to impede the ongoing investigation into the smuggling case.
Kerala’s advocate general, Gopalakrishna Kurup, argued the state has the right to protect its interest and the issue was of public interest. The court later stayed the inquiry and said it will hear the issue in detail later.
The smuggling case surfaced in July 2020 when Customs officials at the Thiruvananthapuram airport seized a diplomatic bag addressed to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) consulate after a tip-off that it was being used to smuggle gold. The bag arrived on a chartered flight from the UAE and contained 30 kg of gold.
Vijayan’s former principal secretary, M Sivasankar, was among those arrested in the case. Alleged dollar smuggling also came to light during the probe into the case, which separate central agencies are probing. Vijayan has accused the Centre of intimidation by using central agencies.
Two accused in the smuggling case, Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair, purportedly complained in an audio clip, which was leaked to the media, that they were under pressure to name Vijayan and other government officials.
A video clip of Suresh, who is lodged in Thiruvananthapuram’s women’s jail, in which she purportedly said she was under pressure to name ministers and Vijayan was also leaked. Later, two women officers, who escorted Suresh, also claimed that they saw ED officials forcing her to name important personalities, including Vijayan.
The ED has denied these claims. The Customs department filed an affidavit in the high court in March quoting Suresh’s statement alleging Vijayan, three of his ministers and the speaker of the Kerala assembly were aware of smuggling activities.