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THE KERALA High Court Friday declined to stay the quick verification of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) against Revenue Minister Adoor Prakash in a land deal.
Earlier this week, the Vigilance court in Muvattupuzha had ordered the probe against the Congress minister over a controversial order to hand over 128 acres of paddy field, identified as surplus land, to a developer. The decision was taken two days before the notification for the assembly elections was announced.
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Following protests, the revenue department had revoked the order. But the high court observed that the allegations against the minister would not go by revoking the order. The court asked the VACB for an impartial probe and the court should be apprised of the progress of the probe.
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The vigilance court had ordered the probe based on a PIL and asked the VACB to submit report within 15 days. The order to hand over the surplus land to the private developer was issued disregarding reports from various departments. Police had reported that ‘godman’ Santhosh Madhavan purchased the land under benami names.
The high court and the land revenue board had earlier rejected petitions submitted by the company.
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