The Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court will look into the merit of the complaint filed by the Crime Branch (CB) against the Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials for allegedly forcing some of the accused in the diplomatic channel gold smuggling case to name the Kerala Chief Minister in the smuggling case.
D. Suresh Kumar, the First Additional Sessions Judge who is holding the charge of the Principal Sessions Court, court passed the order for inquiry under Section 340 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) on Wednesday.
Preliminary inquiry
The court will carry out a preliminary inquiry to find out whether there is merit in the complaint.
If the court finds merit in the complaint, it would be forwarded to the Chief Judicial Magistrate having jurisdiction to book a case, judicial sources said.
The court can order an inquiry on an application filed before it or otherwise when it is of the opinion that it is expedient in the interest of justice to carry out an inquiry into any offence, which is listed under the Section 195 of the CrPC, has been committed, the sources pointed out.
The case
The Crime Branch approached the Ernakulam court after being instructed by the High Court, which considered a petition moved by P. Radhakrishnan, the Additional Director of the ED, seeking to quash the First Information Report filed in the case.
The investigation agency has submitted a set of documents, including some investigation reports, which were submitted in sealed covers before the Principal Sessions Court. The statements of independent witnesses, including police officials, women constables and the statements of Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair, the two accused in the case, were also submitted before the court. The documents also included the statements of some witnesses implicating the ED officials in the case.
Incidentally, the Crime Branch booked the case at a time when electioneering was at its peak in the State and the ED extending its probe to new sectors, including the SNC-Lavalin case, in which the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was earlier discharged by a trial court. The CBI appeal against the discharge is pending before the Supreme Court.
