THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Finance Minister K M Mani has initiated legal action against Biju Ramesh, the bar owner who had made allegations of paying Rs one crore as bribe for reportedly facilitating a favourable settlement in the licence renewal issue of 418 bars lying closed.
In a legal notice issued through senior lawyer S Sreekumar, the Finance Minister demanded an unconditional apology after withdrawing the baseless allegations made against him and sought damages of `10 crore for making defamatory charges.
The Finance Minister has also demanded that Biju Ramesh should withdraw his allegations and tender the apology in front of media persons, after convening a news conference within a week.
The notice warns that unless the allegations are withdrawn as demanded, Biju stands to face both civil and criminal proceedings as per law.