THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: State Crime Records Bureau director and former Vigilance director Mr. N. Shanker Reddy has moved the High Court against the preliminary inquiry ordered against him for allegedly torpedoing the bar bribery case involving former finance minister K.M. Mani. In a petition filed on Wednesday, Mr. Reddy alleged mischievous intentions behind filing a ‘factually false report’ by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) stating that SP R. Sukesan had decided to refer the bar case following his instruction.
He also accused Vigilance director Jacob Thomas of being prejudiced against him because he (Reddy) had filed a report to the Lok Ayukta earlier stating that Mr. Jacob had violated service rules by going for employment at TKM Institute of Management and obtaining Rs 8.47 lakh in 2009 without government sanction. Meanwhile, it is learnt that Chief Information Commissioner Vinson M. Paul, who was also a former Vigilance director, had submitted a representation to the government against the said report which also states that Mr. Paul had directed Mr. Sukesan to refer the case.
The controversial report was submitted by the VACB before the Inquiry Commissioner and Special Judge on September 20 as part of the petition seeking a probe into the alleged torpedoing of the bar bribery probe. According to the petition filed by Mr. Reddy, the report was even prepared by an administrative assistant, S. Jaya. An administrative assistant in VACB does not scrutinise materials like factual report or case diaries, but is supposed to do only ministerial work in an office.
An utterly false and misleading report of the administrative assistant had influenced the court in ordering a probe, he said. Mr. Reddy also pointed out in the petition that when a false report came in the media that Mr Sukesan had filed a report alleging that he (Mr. Reddy) had sabotaged the investigation, Mr. Jacob Thomas did not deny the report. “On the other hand, he spoke to the media in such a way that it reinforced the allegation of sabotage by the petitioner," said the petition.
The petition said that in case the preliminary inquiry order is not quashed, the probe may be handed over to a senior officer not under the control of Jacob Thomas as he has virtually transposed as the complainant by filing a false report due to his prejudice against Mr. Reddy. He also sought a probe into the filing of the false report.
