Former Principal Secretary M Sivasankar’s bail plea in the alleged corruption case related to the LIFE Mission project has been dismissed by the Kerala High Court on Thursday. The court rejected his bail application that was filed after a special PMLA court had extended his custody till March 21, and rejected his bail application on March 2. Justice A Badharudeen passed the order. The money laundering case relates to the alleged illegal gratification obtained for awarding the contract work for the LIFE Mission’s project for building 140 housing units in Thrissur district using funds donated by UAE Red Crescent. Sivasankar has been under custody since his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate on February 14.
Sivasankar had moved the High Court for bail, alleging his arrest to be a ‘political stunt.’ He claimed that there was no direct allegation against him and the entire case was a ‘political hit job by the Enforcement Directorate’ using the professional privity he had with the Chief Minister of Kerala. It was also argued that the CBI’s corruption allegations didn’t name him as an accused, and he challenged the approach taken by the Special Court to rely upon documents furnished by the ED in three sets of sealed covers.
However, Additional Solicitor General R Sankaranarayanan opposed the plea, alleging Sivasankar to be the kingpin who orchestrated the money laundering and bribery since the beginning. He further argued that Sivasankar could impede the investigation if released on bail.
Sivasankar is also an accused in another money laundering case registered over the smuggling of gold through diplomatic channels in the Thiruvananthapuram airport. In that case, he had been in custody for nearly three months until the High Court granted him bail in January 2021.
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