LDF MLAs’ Petition To Be Heard In Kerala High Court Today

LDF MLAs’ petition to be heard in Kerala High Court today, challenges ED’s investigation in the KIIFB case: Kerala.

The Kerala High Court will on Thursday hear a PIL filed by five LDF MLAs against the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) probe into alleged violations in financial transactions of the KIIFB institution.

The petition has been listed for hearing before a bench of Chief Justice S Manikumar and Justice Shaji P Chali.

The MLAs, in their petition, have claimed that the ED’s action will adversely affect over 900 development projects worth around Rs 73,000 crore in the state.

These MLAs filed a petition.

CPI(M) MLA KK Shailaja, IB Satheesh and actors M Mukesh, CPI MLA E Chandrasekaran, and Congress (Secular) MLA Kadanappally Ramachandran have filed a joint petition in the High Court against the ED’s probe.

Advocate V M Krishnakumar, representing the MLAs in the matter, on Wednesday, confirmed the registration of the case and said it was listed for hearing during the day.

LDF MLAs’ petition to be heard in Kerala High Court: MLAs raised questions about ED’s investigation.

In the petition, the MLAs have alleged that the ED is defaming the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB). As a result of this various investors have gotten scared.

They have argued that the only financial transaction that KIIFB did under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) was the issuance of ‘masala bonds’ and the same was done with the permission of the RBI, which is the regulator.

If there is no complaint about any FEMA violation in RBI as a regulator, then how can any external agency conduct investigation in respect of the same, it has been questioned by the legislators in their petition.

ED had issued notice to the former finance minister.

Similar arguments were made by former state finance minister and senior CPI(M) leader TM Thomas Isaac in a separate petition.

In which the summons of the ED to appear before him in connection with the agency’s investigation in KIIFB was challenged. His petition is listed for hearing before a separate bench of the High Court.

Isaac had said that the BJP government at the Center was misusing all the investigating agencies for its political gains. He has argued that the summons issued to him should be withdrawn.