Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president and MP K Sudhakaran on Thursday moved the High Court here seeking protection from arrest in a cheating case involving controversial antique dealer Monson Mavunkal. Sudhakaran, who was recently asked to appear before the Crime Branch which is probing the case, said in his anticipatory bail plea that he apprehends arrest as he could not turn up before the investigating agency on Wednesday.
The KPCC chief said that he had "prearranged meetings and consultations" on Wednesday, the day he was asked to appear before the Crime Branch, and as a result he had submitted a request for another date for his personal appearance.
Sudhakaran, in the plea filed through advocate Mathew A Kuzhalanadan, contended that the case in question was registered in September 2021 and there were no allegations or accusations against him in the FIR.
"It is pertinent to state that after more than 19 months of registering the crime, the personal appearance of the petitioner (Sudhakaran) is sought for based on a suspicion that the petitioner is allegedly involved in the crime," the petition said.
The Congress MP claimed in his plea that prima facie the notice issued to him to be present in person before the Crime Branch "appears to have been for extraneous reasons and political compulsion best known to the police authorities".\
He further said that the notice was issued under section 41A of the Criminal Procedure Code which gives the police powers to arrest the person whether he complies or not with the notice.
"In light of the said reasons, the petitioner apprehends arrest by the respondent 2 (Crime Branch) for offences stated in the notice," his plea said.
After Sudhakaran had received the notice, the Congress in Kerala had accused the ruling CPI(M) and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of trying to 'divert attention' from the various allegations against him and intimidate the opposition by such moves.
Mavunkal, who is presently in judicial custody, had recently made a statement before the media that if the case was investigated properly, some top police officials and even some close aides of the CM would be jailed.
He had made the statement while being taken away by police after he appeared before the Additional District and Sessions Court in Ernakulam.
While being led away by police, he also said that Sudhakaran had no role in the case.
The CPI(M) on the other hand, had claimed that the case and probe against Sudhakaran was initiated as per law and would proceed accordingly.
It had denied the Congress allegations that it was vendetta politics.
Sudhakaran, earlier, had also refuted the allegations against him, saying he had no role in the cheating case against Mavunkal.
The crime branch had decided to interrogate the KPCC president on the basis of a statement by complainants, who lost their money in the cheating case, claiming they had handed over money to Mavunkal in the presence of Sudhakaran.
Earlier, the agency had submitted an additional report before the court here, arraigning Sudhakaran as an accused in the case.
When the allegations cropped up against him two years ago, Sudhakaran denied them.
The issue had snowballed into a political controversy as images of Mavunkal, along with Sudhakaran, emerged.
Sudhakaran had said he had gone to Mavunkal's residence for treatment, as the latter claimed to be a trained cosmetologist.
Mavunkal had allegedly made false representations about himself and his business to various people and collected money from them. Many images of Mavunkal with senior police officers and bureaucrats of the state have surfaced.
Cherthala native Mavunkal, who claims to be in possession of rare and historic antiques, was arrested by the Crime Branch in September 2021.
He is facing charges of having swindled Rs 10 crore from several people.
