The Kerala HIgh Court on Wednesday, June 21, 2023, granted an interim anticipatory bail for two weeks to K. Sudhakaran, president, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), in a cheating case involving fake antiquities dealer Monson Mavunkal.
Justice Ziyad Rahman A.A. also directed him to appear before the investigation officers on June 23 in compliance with the notice issued to him by the police under 41A of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.P.C).The court ordered that in the event of his arrest, he shall be released on bail on execution of a bond for Rs.50,000 with two solvent sureties to the satisfaction of the investigation officer.
The court also directed the Kerala Congress president to cooperate with the investigation and not to make any attempts to intimidate or influence the witnesses. Mr. Sudhakaran has been listed as second accused in the case.
In his petition, Mr. Sudhakaran said that there was no allegation against him in the first information statement recorded by the police. In fact it was after 19 months of registering the case that he had been asked to appear before the Crime Branch, based on a suspicion that he was allegedly involved in the case. The complaint was filed in 2018 and the case registered in 2021. The ingredients for the offences charged against him had not been made out in the complaint, he said.
‘Case by political rivals’
He feared that the issue of notice asking him to appear before the police was a ploy to drag him into the controversy and tarnish his image. The petitioner was being targeted due to the acts of his political rivals.The notice was issued to him under political compulsion best known to the police authorities, the petition said.
He added that custodial interrogation was not necessary as there had been no substance in the allegations and “no culpable element” made out against him. He said that he would cooperate with the investigation and would not flee from justice.The cheating case against Monson Mavunkal was registered on September 23, 2021, on a complaint by a person that he had been cheated to the tune of ₹10 crore.
The complainant alleged that the accused had collected ₹10 crore from him and others with a promise to return it.The complainant had handed over money to Mavunkal in the presence of Mr. Sudhakaran. However, the accused failed to return the amount. When controversial images of Mavunkal along with Mr. Sudhakaran started emerging, the Congress leader had said that he had gone to Mavunkal’s home for treatment, as Monson claimed that he was a trained cosmetologist.
