Life Mission Scam: Sivasankar Withdraws Interim Bail Plea on Medical Grounds

M Sivasankar, the former principal secretary to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, has recently withdrew his plea for interim bail in the Kerala High Court.

The plea was related to the alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act in the Life Mission project.

Sivasankar chose not to pursue his request for interim relief on health grounds after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) objected, citing doubts regarding his claims of ill-health due to his refusal to seek treatment in government medical colleges.

Deputy Solicitor General S Manu, representing the ED, also pointed out that a special leave petition was pending in the Supreme Court against a Kerala High Court order that denied Sivasankar bail. Given these circumstances, it would be inappropriate to consider his plea for interim relief.

Following brief arguments, Sivasankar’s lawyer sought permission to withdraw the plea for interim bail based on health grounds. The High Court acknowledged the submission and dismissed the Criminal Miscellaneous Case (Crl.MC) as withdrawn.

In April of this year, the court had denied Sivasankar bail, citing concerns that he could tamper with evidence due to his influence within the ruling party and his connection with the Chief Minister.

Sivasankar was arrested on February 14 in connection with the alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) in the Life Mission project, which is a flagship housing initiative of the Left government. The project aimed to provide housing for the homeless in the state of Kerala.

As part of the project, a housing complex in Wadakkanchery was supposed to be constructed using funds provided by the international humanitarian organization Red Crescent. The construction contract was awarded to Unitac Builders and Sane Ventures. These companies undertook the construction based on an agreement with Red Crescent, which had committed Rs 20 crore towards the Wadakkanchery project of Life Mission.

It is alleged that Unitac Builders provided kickbacks to Sivasankar and the Consul General of the UAE in order to secure the contract. This revelation came to light when former employees of the UAE Consulate, Swapna Suresh and Sarith PS, were arrested by the ED and Customs in a separate case related to gold smuggling into Kerala.

In 2020, the CBI filed an FIR in a Kochi court under Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code (punishment of criminal conspiracy) and Section 35 of the FCRA based on a complaint by the then Wadakkanchery MLA and Congress leader Anil Akkara. The FIR listed Santhosh Eappen, the Managing Director of Unitac Builders, as the first accused, and the company Sane Ventures as the second accused.

The alleged FCRA violation and corruption in the project became a significant political issue at the time, with opposition parties accusing Swapna Suresh, the prime accused in the controversial gold smuggling case, of confessing in an NIA court that she had received Rs 1 crore as a commission for the project. Reportedly, she claimed that the money was intended for Sivasankar.