The State government on Wednesday told an anti-corruption court here that its prosecution sanction was mandatory for registration of any case against Finance Minister K.M. Mani.
The State government made its case in the court of Vigilance Enquiry Commissioner and Special Judge John K. Illikadan.
The judge was presiding over the preliminary hearing on a petition demanding a criminal inquiry against Mr. Mani on the allegation that he had accepted a huge payoff from hoteliers for renewal of liquor permits of 418 bars deemed ‘sub-standard’ by the government.
Brijesh Raju, a public interest litigant from Kumarapuram here, moved the court seeking Mr. Mani’s prosecution under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code. The court said it would hear the case again on December 19.
HearingCorrespondingly, a magistrate court in the city also heard a criminal miscellaneous petition seeking the registration of a case against the Finance Minister on the same charges.
The magistrate said he would hear the petition, filed by Isahaq of Vizhinjam, again on November 21.
