Kerala HC extends interim order restraining arrest of ED officer

The Kerala High Court on Thursday extended an interim order issued by it restraining the arrest of Sekhar Kumar, an Assistant Director of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), in connection with a case relating to the alleged demand of ₹2 crore as bribe from a Kollam-based cashew businessman to extricate him from a money-laundering case, until the pronouncement of the final order.

Mr. Kumar had filed an anticipatory bail petition before the court, claiming his innocence and alleging that he was falsely implicated in the case with ulterior motives. He contended that the businessman somehow wanted to wriggle out of the probe that had been initiated against him by the ED for allegedly siphoning off ₹24 lakh and that the Vigilance case against him was part of a bid by the businessman to escape legal action.