In a major relief to K M Abraham, a former IAS officer and the chief principal secretary of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, the Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed a HC order directing the CBI to file an FIR and start a probe against him in connection with a disproportionate assets case.
"We stay the Kerala High Court order," said a two-judge bench of the apex court, led by Justice Dipankar Datta and including Justice Manmohan.
The top court also issued notices to the CBI, Kerala government and the complainant -- activist Jomon Puthenpurackal -- after hearing an appeal filed by Abraham.
Senior advocate R Basant, appearing for Abraham, told the apex court that an FIR under the Prevention of Corruption Act cannot be registered without the mandatory sanction under Section 17A of the law.
Earlier, the Kerala High Court, after going through the petition of Puthenpurackal, ordered the CBI to file an FIR and start a probe against Abraham.
The HC was satisfied with the contention of Puthenpurackal that Abraham's alleged role in the disproportionate assets case should be investigated.
The HC, in its order directing a CBI probe against Abraham, observed that he had held a Cabinet rank, and an investigation by the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau would not instill public confidence. "Thereby a CBI probe is necessary," said the HC in its order.
The HC said that vigilance officials, while conducting a preliminary inquiry into the property of Abraham, had deliberately reduced the value of his assets with the intent to protect him.
Before the Kerala HC passed the order on Puthenpurackal's plea, a special court in Thiruvananthapuram had rejected his petition seeking a direction for a vigilance probe into the allegations of disproportionate assets against Abraham, citing lack of evidence.
This forced Puthenpurackal to knock the doors of the HC. After the HC passed the order directing a CBI probe against Abraham, the former IAS officer moved the apex court by filing a Special Leave Petition (SLP) seeking a stay on it.