Kerala HC grants bail to suspended IAS officer Sivasankar

The Kerala High Court on Mondaygranted conditional bail to suspended IAS officer M Sivasankararrested by the Enforcement Directorate on October 28 in amoney laundering case registered in connection with goldsmuggling in the state.

In a relief to the former principal secretaryto Kerala Chief Minister, the Additional Chief Judicial(Economic Offences) Court, Ernakulam, also granted him defaultbail (accused entitled to seek bail in case charge sheet isnot filed in a specified period) in a case registered byCustoms in connection with the smuggling of gold.

Sivasankar, however, would continue to remainbehind bars as he was arrested by the Customs on January 21 inconnection with an alleged dollar smuggling case that came tolight during the probe into the gold-smuggling racket.

The high court granted bail to Sivasankarnearly three months after he was arrested by the ED inconnection with the money laundering case.

Noting that Sivasankar has been custody sinceOctober 28 and has been subjected to interrogation includingcustodial interrogation a number of times, Justice AshokMenon, in his order, said, ''I find no rationale for continuingthe applicant's judicial custody as an undertrial in thiscase''.

The court also noted that the present pandemictimes also does not encourage incarceration of an accusedindefinitely.

He was released on regular bail on stringentconditions.

Allowing the bail application, the courtdirected Sivasankar to execute bond of Rs 5,000,00 with twosolvent sureties for like amount each to the satisfaction ofthe jurisdictional court.

Opposing the bail plea, the ED had produceddocuments in a sealed cover pertaining to the investigation,including statements of Sivasankar and two prime accused inthe gold smuggling case, Sarith PS and Swapna Suresh.

The ED submitted that during the investigationSivasankar had revealed that he had facilitated Swapna Sureshto open a bank locker jointly with his chartered accountant PVenugopal with SBI Thiruvananthapuram.

The ED contended that Suresh was directlyinvolved in the smuggling of gold through diplomatic baggageand had earned lucrative profits from the said activity.

The ED also alleged that both Suresh and Sivasankarhad also received kickbacks from M/s Unitac Builders forfacilitating award of the contract of one of the projectsunder the LIFE Mission, one of the prestigious and ambitiousinitiative by the Kerala government to provide housing to thehomeless and poor people in the state.

It alleged that the proceeds of crime so derivedfrom the aforesaid illegal activities had been kept in thebank locker in the form of gold and in cash which were seizedby the NIA, Kochi.

Counsel for Sivasankar argued that no offenceunder Section 3 of the PMLA was made out or even properlyalleged against Sivasankar.

He submitted that even if it is assumed thatSivasankar had parked the bribe money in the bank locker ofSuresh that per se will not attract Section 3 and may amountto an offence under Prevention of Corruption Act and theCustoms Act only.

The court also directed him to surrender hispassport and appear before the investigating officer as andwhen called for.

The ED had filed a supplementary chargesheet atthe court for Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) caseshere on December 24, alleging that Sivasankar knowinglyassisted other key accused in the gold-smuggling throughdiplomatic channel in Kerala.

The agency had said its investigation hadrevealed Sivasankar, the fifth accused in the case, indulgedin criminal activities and committed scheduled offences.

The ED had filed the partial charge sheet inthe court for PMLA cases, days before the 60-day limit forfiling the charge sheet was to end.