The Kerala government will pay Kapil Sibal Rs 15.5 lakh for each court appearance in the Thiruvananthapuram gold smuggling case.
A state government order authorising Rs 15,50,000 to be paid for the Supreme Court lawyer was issued by the law department. That sum is equivalent to at least 30 sovereigns of gold in today’s market.
The Advocate General is qualified to receive the money as ‘compensation for professional and special services’ under the government decree.
The Enforcement Directorate, the investigating agency, had requested that the trial be transferred to Bengaluru. On November 3, when the court reconvenes to hear the matter, Sibal is anticipated to appear on behalf of the state. The matter will be considered by the Supreme Court’s bench, which is led by Chief Justice UU Lalit.
In July, ED submitted a petition for a transfer. The state had then voiced its disapproval, and the government’s representative in court was Dr. V Venu, the additional chief secretary of the Home Department.
The defendants are Swapna Suresh, Sarith PS, and Sandeep Nair.
The state administration was allegedly threatening the accused with sabotaging the case, according to the ED. The agency had informed the SC that M Sivasankar, a defendant in the case and a former principal secretary to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, had influenced the other defendants.
The suspected smuggling of gold in diplomatic luggage at the Thiruvananthapuram Airport is the subject of the case, which dates back to July 2020.
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