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ED comes out clean, but Kerala police are cornered

By MK Shukla & Rakesh Ranjan- 16 Apr 2021
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New Delhi (16.04.2021): The ED has come out clean in its handling of the Kerala gold smuggling case which has rocked the state government.

But the Kerala Police Crime Branch on Friday ran into a deep embarrassment as the state HC rejected its two FIRs against "unnamed officials" of the Enforcement Directorate for allegedly coercing the accused, Sandeep Nair, in the gold smuggling case to give false incriminating statements against state CM Pinarayi Vijayan and other functionaries of the government.

The HC judgment pronounced by a Bench of Justice VG Arun came on two writ petitions moved by Deputy Director of ED Kochi Zone, P Radhakrishnan, challenging two First Information Reports (FIRs) registered by Kerala Police Crime Branch.

Justice Arun noted: "The remedy of the aggrieved person was to approach the Special Court. As far as the instant cases are concerned, the Special Court has already received the complaint of the accused Sandeep Nair and has allowed the application of the Crime Branch to question him in jail. The 161 Statement of Sandeep Nair recorded thereafter was made available to me in a sealed cover. In my considered opinion, while interdicting the police from continuing the investigation, the interest of justice requires the Special Judge be permitted to look into the materials collected by the Crime Branch treating it as a petition under Section 340(1) CrPC. (It will have) to decide whether it is expedient to conduct an inquiry."

The Court had earlier warned against taking any coercive action against ED officials and had recorded an undertaking made by Senior Public Prosecutor that official witnesses would not be called till the matter was decided.

Earlier too, the Kerala Police had faced embarrassment when the filing of the second FIR was brought to the notice of the bench. Ordering that the investigation in the second FIR be deferred, Justice Arun told the state prosecutor that "There has to be some deference to the court. We were in the midst of hearing the other case."

In the first FIR, officials of the ED were booked for abetment, conspiracy, framing incorrect documents with intent to cause injury, fabrication of false evidence, and threatening accused Swapna Suresh to give false evidence (sections 116, 120B, 167, 192, 193, 195A of the Indian Penal Code). On the other hand, the second FIR was marked by the absence of offences of conspiracy and the punishment for the fabrication of false evidence (sections 120B and 193 of the IPC).

(By MK Shukla & Rakesh Ranjan)

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