Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan said here on Tuesday that further action on the Vigilance case against Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan on ‘gifting’ land to his relative would be taken only after obtaining the legal opinion of the Advocate General.
The Minister told the media that the Deputy Director (Prosecution) and the Director of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau had recommended prosecution of the Opposition leader. However, the government had sought the opinion of the Advocate General (AG).
Decisions on the case, including whether the Governor’s sanction should be sought for the prosecution, would be taken on the basis of the legal advice. He had not received any advice that the Governor’s sanction was not needed.
Mr. Radhakrishnan said the government was only fulfilling its legal obligation in the case without showing any ugly haste, and in a transparent manner. The Opposition was alleging political motives when the findings of the investigation went against Mr. Achuthanandnan. The government would not use the Vigilance for political purposes. (Mr. Achuthanandan is accused of having committed irregularities in the allocation of land to his relative T.K. Soman, an ex-serviceman.)
Jayakrishnan case
He said the reinvestigation in the K.T. Jayakrishnan murder case was ordered on the basis of a legal opinion received by the government. The special investigation team that probed the T.P. Chandrasekharan murder case had detected that the real culprits in the Jayakrishnan murder case had not been prosecuted. Following media reports about the investigation, Jayakrishnan’s mother had sought further probe by the Crime Branch or the Central Bureau of Investigation.
The government had decided, after considering various memoranda, that a special investigation team headed by Deputy Superintendent of Crime Branch (Kozhikode) Shoukat Ali should conduct the reinvestigation.
