Not Proper To Disturb Candidate Who Is Contesting Election: Kerala High Court While Granting Relief To Former Minister In PMLA Case
|The Kerala High Court has granted relief to the former Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac in the Masala Bonds case by holding that it is not proper according to the Court to disturb the Parliamentary election candidate when the election is close.
Thomas Isaac had preferred a writ petition before the court seeking relief.
A Single Bench of Justice T.R. Ravi observed, "I do not think it is proper to disturb a candidate who is contesting an election for a representation in the Parliament at this stage, particularly since only less than a month is available for completing the elections".
The Court noted, “I have gone through the files placed before me and I do not think that at this stage, the details which have been placed before me can be disclosed, particularly since these are materials collected as part of investigation, which may have to be put to the persons who are summoned as part of the investigation.”
Advocate N. Raghuraj appeared on behalf of the petitioner while Senior Advocate Sumathi Dandapani and Senior GP V. Manu appeared on behalf of the respondents.
In this case, the counsel for the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had made available some materials to show that there were some utilisations of the funds that were received through Masala Bonds, which needed explanation.
The High Court in the above context observed, “I find that some transactions require explanations and the manner in which the explanations are to be obtained by the ED will be considered at a later stage. The elections are due and the petitioner in W.P.(C) No.3719/2024 is also a candidate.”
The Court added that it is not proper to disturb a candidate who is contesting an election for a representation in the Parliament at this stage, particularly since only less than a month is available for completing the elections.
Accordingly, the Court adjourned the cases for detailed hearing on May 22, 2024.
Cause Title- Dr. T.M. Thomas Isaac v. The Deputy Director, Directorate of Enforcement & Ors.
Appearance:
Petitioner: Advocates N. Raghuraj, Nandagopal, S. Kurup, Sayujya, Vivek Menon, and Rance R.
Respondents: Senior Advocate Sumathi Dandapani, Senior GP V. Manu, Advocates Jaishankar V. Nair, and Milu Dandapani.