Cheating Case: Kerala HC Grants Anticipatory Bail To KPCC President K Sudhakaran

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday granted interim anticipatory bail to K Sudhkaran, Member of Parliament (MP) and President of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) for a duration of two weeks.

This bail pertains to a cheating case from 2021, involving the infamous fake antique dealer, Monson Mavunkal.

A single bench of Justice Ziyad Rahman AA stated that Sudhakaran should be released on bail upon arrest, upon executing a bond worth ₹50,000. The bench further added that Sudhakaran is required to present himself before the Crime Branch for investigation on 23^rd June, 2023.

“I am passing an interim order, particularly taking note of the fact that the petitioner is issued with a notice under section 41A of CrPC directing him to appear before the investigation officer on June 23. Accordingly, it is ordered that the petitioner shall appear before the investigation officer in compliance with the notice under section 41 A, and in the event of arrest he shall be released on bail on the execution of a bond of Rs 50,000 in the satisfaction of the investigation officer. The petitioner shall cooperate with the investigation officer and shall not make any attempt to intimidate the witnesses. Interim order shall be imposed for a period of two weeks,” the order reads.

The order was passed after Sudhkaran approached the Court contending that no allegations were made against him in the First Information Report (FIR) lodged by the police in 2021.

The FIR was based on a complaint received in 2018. The charges leveled against Sudhkaran fall under Sections 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 471 (fraudulently using a document as genuine while believing it is forged), and 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

In his statement, Sudhkaran mentioned that he was served a notice under Section 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) after nineteen months of registering the case. The notice requested his appearance before the Crime Branch due to alleged involvement in the crime. According to Sudhkaran’s plea, the delayed notice, nearly two years later, is a deliberate tactic to implicate him in the controversy and harm his reputation, which he built during his extensive years of public service.

The KPCC President further contended that custodial interrogation was unwarranted since the allegation lacked substance and failed to establish any culpable element against him. He expressed his willingness to cooperate with the investigation and assured that he would not evade justice.