LIFE Mission Case: Supreme Court Issues Notice To ED On Bail Plea Of M Sivasankar, Former Principal Secretary To Kerala CM

The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice in the special leave petition filed by M Sivasankar, former Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister of Kerala, in the money laundering case in connection with the LIFE ((Livelihood, Inclusion and Financial Empowerment) Mission corruption case. LIFE project is a housing project initiated by the Kerala Government for the homeless.

A Bench of Justices V Ramasubramanian and Pankaj Mithal issued notice returnable by May 17, after Sivasankar's lawyer Senior Advocate Jaideep Gupta requested for an early posting date to consider his plea for interim bail on medical grounds. The SLP filed is challenging the Kerala High Court’s order which had rejected Sivasankar’s bail application earlier.

During the brief hearing today, Gupta informed the bench that chargesheet in the case was filed after the High Court order was pronounced. He also told the bench that the prima accused in the case Swapna Suresh is yet to be arrested by the Enforcement Directorate. He further pointed out that the High Court had also questioned the ED for not arresting the main accused in the case.   

On April 13, Justice A Badharudeen of the Kerala High Court observed that although the petitioner could not be regarded as a person who would flee from trial, his propensity to tamper with the evidence and to influence witnesses could be foreseeable, in view of his power and influence as a former civil servant who had served in the office of the Chief Minister.

The money laundering case emanates out of alleged illegal gratification obtained for awarding the contract work for the LIFE Mission's project for building 140 housing units in Thrissur district utilizing the funds donated by UAE Red Crescent, that was meant for the flood victims of Kerala. Sivasankar has been under custody since his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate on February 14.

Case Title: M. Sivasankar v. UoI And Anr | SLP(Crl) No. 5590/2023

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