In a relief to Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president and Lok Sabha MP K Sudhakaran, the Kerala High Court on Wednesday granted anticipatory bail to him in connection with a cheating case involving fake antique dealer Monson Mavunkal.
There were strong rumours that the police crime branch might arrest Sudhakaran in case the High Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea. The investigating officer of the case had said on Tuesday that there were strong evidences against Sudhakaran. Even as Sudhakaran was summoned by the crime branch last week, he sought more time reportedly owing to chances of arrest.
The HC granted Sudhakaran interim bail for two weeks and directed the crime branch to release him on bail on the execution of a bond for Rs. 50,000 in case of an arrest. The court also instructed that Sudhakaran should not try to intimidate the witnesses in the case.
Sudhakaran was made second accused in a cheating case in which Mavunkal is the first accused. Mavunkal allegedly collected Rs. 25 lakh from some persons in Sudhakaran's presence in 2018 making them believe that Sudhakaran would help in clearing objections raised by the centre for releasing Rs. 2.62 lakh crore due to Mavunkal from abroad on account of antique trade. The complainant also alleged that Mavunkal gave Rs. 10 lakh to Sudhakaran in their presence.
Congress alleged that Sudhakaran was falsely accused in the case as part of the CPM government's political agenda.