Kerala gold smuggling case: Setback for CM Vijayan as HC stays judicial probe against ED

On Wednesday, the Kerala High Court stayed the state government's notification dated May 7 constituting a judicial commission to probe the alleged attempt to implicate CM Pinarayi Vijayan in the gold smuggling case. Earlier this year, the state police filed FIRs against unnamed officials of the ED for "forcing" gold smuggling scam accused Swapna Suresh to give statements against Vijayan. Several IPC sections such as 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 167 (public servant framing an incorrect document with intent to cause injury), 192 (fabricating false evidence) and 195-A (threatening any person to give false evidence) were invoked by the police.

However, the HC had quashed these cases via an order passed on April 16. Thereafter, the LDF government formed a judicial panel headed by retired High Court judge VK Mohanan to conduct the probe under the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952. Appearing for the ED, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued that the state government's decision to investigate a central agency was not only against federal norms but also Section 3 of the Commission of Inquiry Act. He contended that the inquiry was constituted to impede the ongoing probe into the Kerala gold smuggling case.

On the other hand, Advocate General Gopalakrishna Kurup stressed that the issue was of public interest. In an interim relief to the ED, a single-judge bench of Justice PB Suresh Kumar restrained the judicial commission from taking any action in exercise of the powers conferred upon it. Moreover, the HC issued notice to Pinarayi Vijayan, the Kerala government and the Centre. 

What is the Kerala gold smuggling case? 

On July 5, 2020, Customs officials seized 30 kg of gold worth Rs.15 crore at the Thiruvananthapuram Airport from a diplomatic cargo addressed to a person in the UAE Consulate. Sarith PS who worked at the UAE Consulate was apprehended in this regard. Subsequently, Swapna Suresh, an ex-Consulate employee working as the manager of the Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Limited and M Sivasankar, the ex-Principal Secretary to Kerala CM were also arrested in this case. In January 2020, the NIA filed a charge sheet before the Special Court.

Claiming that the conspiracy started in June 2019, the agency alleged that the aforesaid persons raised funds and smuggled 167 kg of gold between November 2019 and June 2020 through the import cargo addressed to diplomats at the Consulate General of UAE in Thiruvananthapuram. Furthermore, it added that the main accused had planned to smuggle more gold from countries such as Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia. Holding them responsible for threatening the "economic security of India", the agency revealed that the probe against absconding persons and others who facilitated the crime is underway.