KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Monday dismissed the bail petition of former public works minister V K Ebrahim Kunju, the fifth accused in Palarivattom flyover corruption case. The court observed that this was not a fit case in which the petitioner can be released on bail at this stage. “The investigation is going on and very serious allegations are raised against a former minister of the state.
Therefore, the petitioner is not entitled to bail on merit at this stage,” the court observed The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) submitted that the petitioner had conspired with the other accused — Sumeeth Goyal, MD, RDS Project Ltd; M T Thankachan, then AGM, Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala Ltd (RBDCK); Benny Paul, then principal consultant, Kerala Industrial and Technical Consultancy Organization Ltd; T O Sooraj, then secretary, PWD, and Muhammed Haneesh, then managing director of RBDCK — and in pursuance of that conspiracy, RDS was selected as the successful bidder.
The VACB said it wants to question the petitioner based on several documents and statements given by other witnesses. The court also examined whether the petitioner can be released on bail on the medical condition. It observed that as per the medical report, the petitioner is suffering from different illnesses. The report suggests that it was better to have hospital care until his clinical and haematological parameters improve, especially because of his immune- compromised state.
Then what is the purpose of releasing the petitioner on bail? The Medical Board says the patient will be highly prone to various infections. During this pandemic period, what is the purpose of releasing the petitioner on bail and asking him to go to his house is the question. He is now treated by a doctor of his choice. He is now in hospital. Let the treatment continue. Once the treatment is over, and the doctors suggest that he can be discharged, he will be moved to jail. At that stage, the petitioner can file a bail application, observed the court.
Jackals better than corrupt people: Court
Dismissing the bail petition filed by Ebrahim Kunju, Justice P V Kunhikrishnan observed that the name Palarivattom evolved from the word ‘Pagalnarivattom’, which means a place where jackals roam even in daytime. “Now, Keralites suspect that it was not jackals but corrupt people who were wandering in this area. The vigilance must find out the truth by conducting a fair and impartial investigation and restore the name of Palarivattom, which relates to jackals and not corrupt people. Jackals are better than corrupt people,” observed the court.