Ernakulam (Kerala) : In a major setback to former minister K.M. Mani, the Kerala High Court on Friday rejected his request to cancel the corruption case against him.
The court rejected his plea to suspend the vigilance proceedings against him in the bar bribery case.
The court said that the steps/procedures taken by the vigilance court cannot be stayed.
The Kerala Congress (M) supremo in his plea had said that as the investigation against vigilance SP R. Sukesan was in progress, the proceeding against him should be suspended until the crime branch probe was over.
The crime branch probe was being conducted on the charges that Sukesan, in collusion with hotelier Biju Ramesh, had conspired against the government in the bar bribery case.
Hotelier Biju Ramesh, who had accused Mani of taking bribe for reducing license fees of bar hotels, had also levelled charges against then excise minister K. Babu and said that he was part of the same scandal and had accepted a bribe as well.
Babu, however, rubbished the charges against him, saying all allegations are baseless. (ANI)