Kerala gold scam: Customs opposes bail plea of CM's ex-aide; accuses him of faking illness

On Tuesday, the Customs department in its report High Court alleged that former Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), M Sivasankar, faked illness to get admitted to a hospital and challenged his anticipatory bail plea in connection with the Kerala gold smuggling case.

Sivasankar, who is the key suspect in the case, was hospitalised after he complained of uneasiness while he was summoned for questioning by the Customs. He was discharged from the hospital on Monday. The Customs Department submitted that the anticipatory bail plea is not maintainable in law particularly under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which deals with the direction for grant of bail to a person apprehending arrest.

"The application is not maintainable in law at all particularly under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. It is mandatory under that section that a person seeking the discretionary powers of the court should satisfy in the application for pre-arrest bail that he is charged with non-bailable offences and that he apprehends arrest...," the Customs said.

The Customs added that both these statements are significantly and singularly absent in the application. "The petitioner has not even disclosed to this Court what offences are charged against him, in which he has moved the application for bail," the Customs said.

Furthermore, the report stated that the pretended illness turned out to be fake in view of the medical opinion that the pain killers will take care of the back pain complained of.

"A person who is clearly avoiding the reach of the law and had made all preparation to defeat even the questioning is not entitled to approach this court," it said.

READ: Admitted to ICU amid Customs heat, Kerala CM's ex-aide Sivasankar's condition stable

However, the Kerala High Court on Monday directed the Customs department to not arrest him until October 23. Earlier, the ED had been restrained from taking coercive action against him till the same date in the gold smuggling scam. Justice Ashok Menon of the HC stated that both cases will be considered on the same day. During the hearing, Sivasankar's counsel argued that his client had been interrogated by various investigative agencies for over 90 hours.

READ: 'Kerala CM authorised me to act as single point of contact': Sivasankar admits to ED

Sivasankar's alleged involvement in gold smuggling scam

The gold smuggling scam came to the fore when the Customs officials seized 30 kg of gold worth Rs.15 crore at the Thiruvananthapuram Airport on July 5 from a diplomatic cargo addressed to a person in the UAE Consulate. Sivasankar's suspension was announced by Vijayan on July 16 based on the recommendations by a state government-appointed two-member committee probing his role in this scam. It was reportedly found that he had violated the All-India Services Conduct rules due to his connections with the accused. Amongst other charges, it has been alleged that the suspended bureaucrat allegedly played a key role in the appointment of Swapna Suresh as operations manager in the Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Limited.