Biju Ramesh to move High Court against minister K Babu

Even as the Vigilance had decided not to register a case against Mr. Babu on the basis of a preliminary inquiry, sources close to Mr. Ramesh said that he would challenge the validity of the Vigilance probe as it did not verify the specific allegation regarding handing over of bribe to the minister as well as Kerala Bar Hotel Association office-bearers’ statement that funds were pooled for bribing the minister.

Mr Achuthanandan, who has already written to the Vigilance director seeking a probe against the minister, made it clear on Thursday that he would move the court seeking a probe if the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau did not initiate action.

Meanwhile, the preliminary inquiry report of VACB, which was leaked out on Thursday, kicked off a row as it revealed that three witnesses had given statements in support of Biju Ramesh's allegations.

They included the association district secretary C.D. Joshi, who said that Rs 10 lakh was collected from members of the association in Thrissur during March 2013 after it was announced in the association meeting that the government was planning to enhance bar licence fee.

Some members mentioned that expenses needed to be met to get the fee reduced. But the Vigilance did not take this into account as none of the other officer- bearers of the association supported this version.

Radhakrishnan and Muhammed Raseef were the others who gave statements in support of Biju's allegation on handing over the bribe to the minister.

But the Vigilance did not consider this citing contradiction in the statements. Also Raseef failed to recognise the minister's private secretary Suresh Pai, to whom the bribe was allegedly handed over.

There were also allegations that the preliminary inquiry conducted by the Vigilance was unlawful as there was no provision for it. Only quick verification or detailed inquiry could be done, it was alleged.