Kochi, Feb 25 The Kerala High Court on Tuesday closed a PIL filed by a group of lawyers challenging the registration of an FIR against its former judge Justice C.N. Ramachandran Nair in the Rs 1,000 crore CSR funds scam case.
The lawyers filed the PIL after a case was registered against Nair last month by Police Sub-Inspector, T.A. Shahul Hameed at Perinthalmanna in Malappuram district.
An association of retired Kerala High Court judges had first expressed their displeasure at this act of the police, as according to them the only reference about Nair in the FIR was that he was the patron of the NGO that was running the scam, which is false.
Early this month when this PIL came up first before the court, a division bench of Justice A. Muhamed Mustaque and Justice P. Krishna Kumar orally enquired whether the police had registered the FIR against the former judge with proper application of mind.
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When this PIL came up for hearing on Tuesday, the court recorded the written statement filed by the Director General of Prosecutions that he would be removed from the array of the accused.
"Today, a statement handed over by the Director General of Prosecution has been placed before us. We record the same. In such view of the matter, the investigating officer shall act upon that statement and do the necessary steps to exclude the former judge of this court from the array of accused," it said.
The court pointed out no one is above the law but when arraigning a person who has held a constitutional office, care should be taken given the potential far-reaching consequences on the judiciary's image and the public's confidence in the system.
Later, the court closed the PIL, clearing the former judge.
The CSR scam, which was the brainchild of Anandhu Krishnan, who was the livewire in the NGO, had cheated innocent people all across Kerala. Krishnan lured victims by promising high-value products like scooters, laptops, and sewing machines at half the market price.
His aggressive promotional campaigns convinced many to invest their savings in what appeared to be an attractive deal.
While Krishnan is in judicial custody, the entire probe has now been taken over by the Crime Branch and so far more than 500 cases of cheating have been registered across the state.
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