Overview

• A Division Bench of Justices Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Syam Kumar V.M. dismissed the Kerala government’s appeal and affirmed the 2021 interim stay.
• The court held that a parallel fact-finding exercise risked prejudicing the accused and derailing cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
• The state-appointed panel, led by former High Court judge Justice V.K. Mohanan, was formed to examine claims that ED officials sought to falsely implicate political leaders based on a voice clip and a letter alleging coercion.
• With the stay continuing, the commission remains non-operational while ED investigations and prosecutions tied to the 2020 Thiruvananthapuram diplomatic-baggage gold seizure proceed.
• The judges left open the question of the state’s legislative competence to create the commission, to be decided later by the single judge hearing the ED’s writ petition.