The State government on Monday informed the Kerala High Court that the Special Public Prosecutor appointed to conduct the bar licence bribery case registered against former Finance Minister K.M. Mani could not appear in the High Court.
The submission was made when the petition filed by Mr. Mani challenging the Thiruvananthapuram Vigilance Court order allowing the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) to conduct further investigation into the allegation of the bar bribery case came up for hearing.
The government further submitted that the appointment was meant only for conducting the trial in the trial court and the special prosecutor was not expected to appear before the court at this stage.
DGP’s opinion
In a statement, the Home Department said that K.P. Satheesan, lawyer, was appointed as Special Public Prosecutor after obtaining the opinion of the Director General of Prosecution (DGP). It was stated by the DGP that the appointment was for conducting the trial of the cases before the Vigilance court.
Besides, the Law Department had also opined that Special Prosecutors could not plead before the High Court. They could only conduct the prosecution before the court concerned after the filing of the final report in the case.
At this stage, when the case was being investigated, only Advocate General or other officers appointed under the Kerala Government Law Officers Rules could appear and make submissions before the High Court.
Why further probe?
Meanwhile, the court orally directed the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) to inform the court as to under what circumstances the VACB had decided to conduct a further investigation into the bar bribery case and about the fresh evidence that had emerged.
The court also directed the investigation officer to specifically explain the circumstances leading to the filing of two affidavits, one by the Special Prosecutor and another by the Senior Government Pleader regarding the investigation into the case in the High Court.
The investigation officer, Sarish P.R., Inspector, VACB, Thiruvananthapuram, who appeared before the court on Monday submitted that he had filed the two statements on the orders of his superior officers.
