Govindan also questioned the agency’s practice of issuing press releases and allowing sections of the media to create a “smokescreen” around its investigations.
The court also observed that the applicants had no criminal antecedents warranting their continued detention and that they had been in custody for more than 67 days.
The state leadership had argued that Padmakumar’s imprisonment made it difficult to initiate disciplinary proceedings after seeking his explanation, admitting that the delay was a lapse on its part.
