The High Court of Kerala on June 16 restrained the Crime Branch from arresting KPCC President K. Sudhakaran till June 21 in connection with his alleged involvement in the cheating case involving fake antiques dealer Monson Mavunkal.
A Single Bench of Justice Ziyad Rahman passed the order while considering an anticipatory-bail plea moved by Mr Sudhakaran. In his submission, the Director General of Prosecution (DGP) said that Mr Sudhakaran was slated to appear before the probe officer on June 23. On whether Mr Sudhakaran would be arrested, the DGP said that would depend, and would only be as per law. If he is so confident that he is innocent, he has no reason to be apprehensive, he added.
Mr Sudhakaran submitted that the case was registered on September 23, 2021, and there was no allegation against him in the First Information Statement (FIS) recorded by the police. It was after 19 months of registering the crime that he had been asked to appear before the Crime Branch, based on a suspicion that he also was allegedly involved in the case. Custodial interrogation was not necessary as there had been no substance in the allegations.
He further contended that he had not committed forgery, neither did he aid or induce anyone to commit such acts. That the probe team sent him notice 19 months after registration of the crime appeared to be for political compulsions, among other reasons. Stating that he would cooperate with the investigation and would not flee from justice, he apprehended that issue of notice to him to appear before the CB was a ploy to drag him into the controversy and to tarnish his image.
Earlier this month, the Crime Branch issued notice to Mr Sudhakaran, stating that they had received credible information about his involvement in the case and directed him to appear before the probe officer on June 14. His appearance was postponed to June 23, after he said he had many pre-arranged commitments on June 14.
