Supreme Court Delays Gold Smuggling Case Hearing

The Supreme Court has postponed for six weeks a hearing on the Enforcement Directorate's plea to transfer the gold smuggling trial from Kerala to Karnataka. The deferment followed multiple requests for adjournment by the ED, with allegations of a nexus between the accused and Kerala officials.

The Supreme Court has once again postponed the hearing concerning the gold smuggling case, originally scheduled to be discussed on Tuesday. The request for adjournment came from the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which seeks to transfer the trial from Kerala to Karnataka.

With Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti at the helm, the court granted a six-week deferment following a plea from a lawyer representing the ED, citing the unavailability of Additional Solicitor General S V Raju. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the Kerala government, expressed frustration over ED's repeated adjournment requests.

The ED's plea is grounded on the assertion of an unfair trial due to alleged ties between the accused and high-ranking Kerala officials. The case involves several arrests, including Swapna Suresh, and stemmed from the seizure of gold at the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram.

(With inputs from agencies.)