Kerala: Congress leader gets anticipatory bail in Rs 1,000 crore CSR scam

 Kochi, Feb 24 (IANS) The Kerala High Court on Monday granted anticipatory bail to Congress leader and lawyer Laly Vincent who is accused in a Rs 1,000 crore CSR scam case. While the prime accused 28-year-old Ananthu Krishnan is presently in judicial custody since last month, Vincent was arraigned as one of the accused in a cheating case filed by a person who lost money in the now infamous CSR scam. A sum of 47 lakhs was found transferred into her bank from Krishnan. After she was named an accused and the hefty transfer was identified, the Congress leader said she was legal counsel for Krishnan and the transferred amount was her professional fee. The High Court while granting her relief orally remarked, “When a lawyer says that it is my professional fees, can I say that it is not professional fees.” The fake CSR scam was promoted by Krishnan who allegedly lured victims by promising high-value products like scooters, laptops, and sewing machines at half the market price. The innocent people alleged that Krishnan’s aggressive promotional campaigns convinced many to invest their savings in what appeared to be an attractive deal. The High Court, however, has asked the Congress leader to appear before the investigating officer within two weeks for investigation of the case. “It cannot be said that the petitioner is involved in the allegation raised by the prosecution. But I will leave it there. It is a matter to be investigated by the investigating officer. As of today, the allegation is that an amount of Rs 47,74,500 is credited to the account of the petitioner. The petitioner got a different case that it is a professional fee. In such circumstances, as of today, I am not in a position to conclude that the petitioner has any involvement in this case at this stage, but I make it clear that the investigating officer is free to investigate in accordance with the law. I make such an observation only for the purpose of deciding the bail application and the that investigating officer is free to investigate the matter untrammelled by any observations,” the court observed. The High Court then pointed out that several bail pleas who were accused in the CSR scam cases were registered across different districts of the state and hence it will pass a common order directing such persons to surrender before the investigating officer within two weeks for interrogation. The High Court further pointed out that the investigating officer after interrogation can record arrest only if necessary, and stated that such persons will also have to be produced before the Magistrate Court on the same day itself. However, it stated this would not be applicable to the main accused in the CSR scam case. The Crime Branch wing of the Kerala Police is probing the case and has registered more than 500 cases of cheating. Last week, the Enforcement Directorate conducted raids at a dozen locations in the state in the same case. -Kerala