THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Seeking a stay order on fresh investigations against Finance Minister KM Mani for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 1 crore promising to renew bar licences last year, Kerala government today moved the High Court.
The petition has been posted for Monday for further hearing.
While hearing the petition the Advocate General argued that the investigation report showed no evidence of demanding bribe but only of a person entering a place with money.
Opposition leader VS Achuthanandan has opposed the petition seeking grant of stay.
"I welcome this verdict on further investigations. I should be proved innocent without any doubt," said Mr Mani, 82, the chief of the Kerala Congress(M), one of the Congress's seven allies in Kerala.
Among those who petitioned against a closure of the case was hotelier Biju Ramesh, who has accused the finance minister of demanding a bribe of Rs 5 crore and eventually accepting Rs 1 crore from bar owners, promising to renew licences of bars that were meant to be shut down after a ban in the state.
The vigilance bureau, which had registered a case against Mr Mani last year, had told the court in July this year that there was not enough evidence to file a charge sheet against him. It said after investigations that while bar owners had visited the minister's residence with the money, there was no evidence to prove that he had taken a bribe.
The petition has been posted for Monday for further hearing.
While hearing the petition the Advocate General argued that the investigation report showed no evidence of demanding bribe but only of a person entering a place with money.
Opposition leader VS Achuthanandan has opposed the petition seeking grant of stay.
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"I welcome this verdict on further investigations. I should be proved innocent without any doubt," said Mr Mani, 82, the chief of the Kerala Congress(M), one of the Congress's seven allies in Kerala.
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Among those who petitioned against a closure of the case was hotelier Biju Ramesh, who has accused the finance minister of demanding a bribe of Rs 5 crore and eventually accepting Rs 1 crore from bar owners, promising to renew licences of bars that were meant to be shut down after a ban in the state.
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The vigilance bureau, which had registered a case against Mr Mani last year, had told the court in July this year that there was not enough evidence to file a charge sheet against him. It said after investigations that while bar owners had visited the minister's residence with the money, there was no evidence to prove that he had taken a bribe.
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