In a day of dramatic twists, a court in Kerala handling corruption in public offices ordered a probe into the bribery allegations involving Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and his senior colleague Aryadan Mohamed.
Minutes later, the high court allowed a stay to a similar order from the same court that forced the resignation of ports, airports and excise minister K Babu, saying it took a hasty decision violating judicial propriety.
Acting on a petition, the Vigilance Court in Thrissur directed the police to register a case and investigate allegations raised by Saritha S Nair, who is standing trial in 33 cheating cases across the state to the tune of nearly Rs70mn, that she bribed Chandy and Mohamed.
As in the case of allegations against Babu by a controversial hotelier, the court did not go into its merit before passing the order, following which opposition supporters took to the streets across the state seeking their resignation.
Rejecting the call, Chandy said his conscience was clear, and he would consult his coalition partners and Congress party “high command” on the future course of action.
Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said there was no need for Chandy to resign on the allegations of a person whose credibility was in question.
“We’ll seek legal recourse (against the court observations),” he said in New Delhi.
Chandy cut short his trip to northern Kerala where he was attending a series of public meetings and reached Kochi to consult lawyers and leaders of the ruling Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF).
“My conscience is clear, and these are all baseless allegations,” Chandy said. “I have made myself available to the judicial commission for their counsels to question me for 14 hours. But Nair’s lawyer did not ask me anything”.
Chandy is yet to forward Babu’s resignation he received last week to the governor for approval. Babu, who is under pressure to take back his resignation, also hinted at “respecting the leadership’s views.”
In yet another blow for his government ahead of state elections this summer, Kovoor Kunjumon, a three-time legislator and a leader of the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), a UDF constituent, resigned and joined the opposition.
Kunjumon said he was fed up with the corruption scandals, and it was difficult for anyone of a good character to stay in the UDF. He vowed to float a “real RSP”.
Kunjumon was at odds with the leadership as his claim to the deputy speaker’s chair was rejected.Nair, who is accused of having used Chandy’s name to collect money from businessmen for a company offering solar power solutions, had told the judicial commission she paid Rs19mn to Chandy and Rs4mn to Mohammed.
Chandy said the allegations were part of a political conspiracy by the liquor lobby who wanted to topple the government over its prohibition policy.
Saritha said she would hand over the evidence to the vigilance court if directed.
“I will not run away from the law,” she told reporters in Kochi.
Nair and her live-in partner Biju Radhakrishnan together floated Team Solar Renewable Energy Solutions Private Ltd in 2011 and were arrested in 2013 for duping customers.
Last month, Radhakrishnan, now serving a life term for killing his wife, claimed before the commission that he had paid Rs55mn to Chandy a bribe.
Three personal staff members of the chief minister were suspended after investigations, but Chandy denied having any direct link with the fraudsters.
“(This is part of) her attempt to wriggle out of the case,” the chief minister told reporters. “Let her state what benefit she got after bribing us. Even the cheques she issued for the (chief minister’s) relief fund was  a dud”.