Life Mission case: Supreme Court grants interim bail to Kerala CM's ex-aide on medical grounds
Supreme Court of India
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted interim bail to retired bureaucrat M. Sivasankar, who served as principal secretary to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in connection with the Life Mission case.
A bench comprising of Justices AS Boppana and MM Sundresh granted the bail for a period of two months to avail of medical treatment.
Opposing the plea, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said that all medical arrangements will be made while Sivasankar is in custody.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the central probe agency, apprehended that his release would impact the investigation.
However, the court granted bail and warned Sivasankar that he should not make any attempt to influence witnesses in the case while he is out on bail.
“The applicant shall not go to any other place, except the vicinity of his hospital and his home,” the court said in its order. Sivasankar, soon after he retired from service on January 31, was asked to appear before the Enforcement Directorate in a bribery case related to the Life Mission project. After a few days of questioning his arrest was recorded on February 15, and since then he has been trying to get bail.
In April this year, the Kerala High Court refused to release him on bail, though he pointed out that he has serious health issues and needs expert treatment.
The case pertains to the pet project of Vijayan -- a housing project for the poor -- being built at Wadakkanchery in Thrissur on government land with funds from a UAE-based charity organisation. It is alleged that a huge amount of money was given as bribe.
The allegations were levelled by Swapna Suresh, the prime accused in the gold smuggling case and also in this case.
Incidentally, in this case another former IAS official and the then chief executive of Life Mission, U.V. Jose, was also questioned a few times by the ED and so was C.M. Raveendran, the assistant private secretary and the closest aide of Chief Minister Vijayan.