KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Thursday granted two weeks more time to Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau to file a statement in response to the petitions filed by State Administrative Reforms Commission chairman V.S. Achuthanandan and former Minister K.M. Mani challenging the order of the Thiruvananthapuram Vigilance Court in the bar bribery case on two separate grounds.
Achuthanandan challenged the directive of the Vigilance court to him to obtain prior government sanction for conducting a further investigation in the case, While Mani challenged the decision of the court to allow a further investigation into the case.
When the case came up for hearing, the court asked Vigilance whether anyone approached the government seeking permission from the government for a fresh probe. The VACB replied that LDF convenor A Vijayaraghavan, who had requested the Vigilance court for further probe, already filed a petition and it is pending before it.