LIFE Mission Case : Supreme Court Makes M Sivasankar's Interim Bail Absolute On Medical Grounds

Without going into the merits of the case, the Supreme Court today granted bail on medical grounds to M Sivasankar, former Principal Secretary to Chief Minister of Kerala, who was arrested in connection with the LIFE Mission money laundering case.

The Bench of Justices MM Sundresh and SVN Bhatti passed the order after examining the report of JIPMER Pondicherry, which stated that there was an immediate need for surgery for Sivasankar.

Sivasankar had moved the Supreme Court against the rejection of his bail plea by the Kerala High Court in April last year.

On August 02, 2023, a Supreme Court Bench of Justices AS Bopanna and MM Sundresh had granted him interim bail on medical grounds for 2 months, considering that he had been advised spine surgery and would also require post-operative treatment.

The interim relief was extended on September 25, 2023, November 29, 2023, and December 08, 2023. On December 08, it was directed that Sivasankar be taken to JIPMER Medical Hospital, Pondicherry for evaluation of his medical condition. 

Today, Senior Advocate Jayant Muthuraj and Advocate-on-Record Manu Srinath, Sivasankar's lawyers,  informed the court that JIPMER Medical Hospital's report was on record. Advocate Zoheb Hossain, appearing for the ED, submitted that the report was not suggestive of a kind of sickness which could not be treated in jail hospitals. He further contended that Sivasankar was repeatedly using medical grounds to obtain the relief of bail.

The ED counsel highlighted that on an earlier occasion when Sivasankar was released on interim bail on medical grounds, he immediately joined the service without availing of any medical treatment. It was said that Sivasankar continued in service on this occasion for a year.

In response, Sivasankar's counsel averred that he was pressing for relief on merits as well as medical grounds and that Sivasankar had no choice other than joining service earlier as his application for voluntary retirement was rejected.

In light of the medical reports on record, the Bench made the interim bail granted to Sivasankar absolute, without going into the merits of the contentions raised.

LIFE (Livelihood, Inclusion and Financial Empowerment) is a housing project of the Government of Kerala for the homeless. Sivasankar is an accused in a money laundering case connected to a corruption case over alleged kickbacks involved in the tender works of the LIFE mission project.

Case Title: M Sivasankar v. Union of India and Anr., SLP(Crl) No. 5590/2023

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