Kochi: Kerala Advocate General C P Sudhakara Prasad on Tuesday issued a notice to Customs (Preventive) Commissioner Sumit Kumar on a complaint seeking contempt proceedings against him for allegedly making public contents of "a secret" statement given to a magistrate by a key accused in the dollar smuggling case.
The notice was issued on the basis of a complaint by a local CPM leader K Jacob.
The complaint has been filed days after the Customs probing the dollar smuggling case in a statement filed in the Kerala High Court claimed prime accused Swapna Suresh has made "shocking revelations" against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and others on the alleged racket involving UAE consulate officials in Thiruvananthapuram.
The statement filed by Kumar kicked up a political storm in the poll-bound state with opposition parties attacking the chief minister while the ruling CPM has hit out at the BJP-led central government questioning its intentions in the backdrop of the elections.
The ruling LDF also organised protest marches towards the offices of the Customs in the state. Kumar had then termed it as an "attempt to intimidate" the Customs.
In his complaint, Jacob contended that by 'revealing' the secret statement, Kumar has committed criminal contempt and sought sanction to move the high court to prosecute him.
He alleged that Kumar, neither a party to the case nor the investigating officer, had revealed the content of the statement given by Suresh to the court under Section 164 of the CrPC.
The CPM leader alleged the officer was "under the dictates of the ruling dispensation at the Centre and his attempt is only to convert" the high court into a political arena to "please his political masters".
"It can also be reasonably presumed that the very intention of filing such a statement was to bring the contents of 164 statements to public glare", he claimed.
Jacob further claimed the Customs commissioner's move amounted to "affecting the administration of justice and lowering the authority" of the high court and the justice dispensation system in the state.
In a statement filed in the high court on last Friday, weeks before the April 6 assembly elections, Kumar had said Suresh made 'shocking revelations' against Vijayan, assembly Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan and some ministers with regard to the dollar 'smuggling'.
Suresh made the 'revelations' in statements given under section 108 and 164 of the CrPC, it was stated.
According to the Customs, she had also alleged the chief minister had close connection with the previous Consul General of UAE and gave statements that illegal monetary transactions were carried out.
"She has stated with clarity about smuggling of foreign currency at the instance of the Hon'ble chief minister and the Hon'ble Speaker with the help of the Consulate," the Customs statement had said.
The dollar case relates to alleged smuggling of USD 1,90,000 (equivalent to Rs 1.30 crore) by a former finance head of the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram to Muscat in Oman.
(With inputs from PTI)
