Thiruvananthapuram: Justice P. S. Antony Commission on honey-trap has cleared former transport minister A. K. Saseendran of any wrongdoing. Briefing the press, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said nothing stood in the way of his return, though his party had to take a call.
NCP state working president T. P. Peethambaran Master, who returned from Delhi after meeting national president Sharad Pawar, welcomed his statement, saying his party would approach the CM and LDF leadership with an official request. There is no opposition from LDF constituents to his return. CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran said his party was not against Mr Saseendran's re-induction, but the decision has to be taken by NCP.
Meanwhile, the commission recommended criminal proceedings against the owner of Mangalam channel and the individuals behind the telecast of the audio clip under various sections of the IPC and IT Act and prosecution of the CEO, R. Ajith Kumar.
State police chief has been asked to look into lapses in the police inquiry, criminal conspiracy and political implications. According to the commission, a fabricated audio clip was aired to increase rating on the TV's launch day. The criminal conspiracy behind the clip and breach of journalistic ethics will be probed.
The findings based on the terms of reference:
The authenticity of the voice clip said to be that of the minister which was aired by Mangalam TV on March 26, has not been proved yet. The panel concluded that the airing on the day of the launch was aimed at getting instant high ratings.
The voice clip was tampered with and edited before airing as part of the criminal conspiracy.
