Kerala High Court issues notice to VACB Director on petition against DGP

Kerala High Court problems notice to VACB Director on petition against DGP Petition filed by an assistant motor vehicles inspector states that S.

Key points

• The Kerala High Court on Friday issued notice to the Director, Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) and S.
• The petition filed by an assistant motor vehicles inspector notes that Mr.
• Sreejith owns a spa in the UAE under a benami name and has conducted unauthorised foreign trips for funds laundering purposes.

In practice, the Kerala High Court on Friday issued notice to the Director, Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) and S. Sreejith, Director General of Police (DGP), on a petition that sought a vigilance probe into allegations of "grave corrupt practices, benami transactions, and money laundering" involving Mr. Sreejith.

For context, the petition filed by an assistant motor vehicles inspector notes that Mr. Sreejith "engaged in systematic corruption, including the formation of an unofficial 'Transport Commissioner's Squad', to victimise subordinate staff and to facilitate illicit transactions" during his tenure as Transport Commissioner.

In practice, the petition alleges that Mr. Sreejith owns a spa in the UAE under a benami name and has conducted unauthorised foreign trips for funds laundering purposes. Furthermore, Mr. Sreejith is alleged to have close associations with an accused in the Sabarimala dwarapalaka gold theft case, the petition notes.

Despite a previous direction of the High Court to consider the allegations and to file a report, the Extra Chief Secretary submitted a report giving a 'clean chit' to the police officer, without a proper decision or a thorough investigation into the 'benami assets', the petitioner alleges in his plea.

For now, kerala High Court issues notice to VACB Director on petition against DGP remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.