Kerala HC dismisses bail plea filed by M Sivasankar in LIFE Mission case

Kochi (Kerala) [India], April 13 : Kerala High Court on Thursday dismissed the bail plea of M Sivasankar, former Principal Secretary to the Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan in the LIFE Mission Scam Case.
Single Bench of Justice A Badharudeen dismissed the bail plea. Sivasankar called his arrest a "political stunt" in the bail plea and said that there is no direct allegation against the petitioner.
In the bail plea before the High Court, Sivasankar said, "The arrest is a political stunt. There is no direct allegation against the petitioner. The entire case is a political hit job by the Enforcement Directorate using the professional privity the petitioner had with the Chief Minister of Kerala."
"The predicate offence registered by the CBI over corruption allegations does not even name the petitioner as an accused. Neither the petitioner nor the State Government had played any role in the selection of Unitac Builders and Developers run by Santhosh Eapen for the execution of the LIFE Mission work", Sivasankar further said in his bail plea.
Sivasankar was arrested by officials of the Enforcement Directorate on February 14.
The case pertains to the state government's LIFE Mission project, which intended to provide homes to the poor who lost their houses in the floods of 2018. The housing project was proposed at Vaddakanchery in the Thrissur district.
The project intended to build houses for 140 families in Vadakkanchery by spending Rs 14.50 crore out of Rs 18.50 crore granted by the Red Crescent via the UAE consulate.