Kerala high court slams police over Mavunkal affidavit

Outraged by Kerala police filing an application to close a pending petition against self-styled antiques dealer Monson Mavunkal and the “accusations” against the judge hearing the matter contained in the affidavit accompanying the plea, the Kerala high court said wearing the khaki does not mean one can say anything against the judiciary.

The high court said the contents of the affidavit were “extremely disconcerting” and “an attempt to browbeat” the court into backing off.

Justice Devan Ramachandran dismissed the application and also considered imposing costs on the police officer who had filed the affidavit containing accusations against him and the court, but refrained from doing so on the request by the Director General of Prosecution.

“Suffice to say the interim application (IA) of this nature — which in my view is intended to browbeat the court and force a particular result — should not have been advised or attempted and more so never pressed with the vehemence as exhibited today at the bar with the Director General of Prosecution praying that the writ petition be closed today,” the judge said.

The application was filed in a plea by Mavunkal’s former driver-cum-mechanic — Ajith E V — alleging harassment by his former employer and some police officers close to him.

Ajith, represented by advocates Philip T Varghese and Thomas T Varghese, had alleged that the harassment started after he made certain disclosures to police in connection with a cheating case against the self-styled antiques dealer.

The court said that till now it had thought the investigation was going well and therefore, was going to close the petition after taking on record the reply filed by the Enforcement Directorate, but the affidavit “changes everything”.

“I was going to close the matter today, but now I think there is something more than what meets the eye,” the judge said.

The court expressed its displeasure after perusing the affidavit filed by the head of the crime branch, which is investigating the cases against Mavunkal, in support of the application, “ascribing motives” to the judge of surprising the police with material from the public domain.

Justice Ramachandran said the affidavit accused him of forcing the police to produce documents and “breaching confidentiality”.

“If you wear khaki, it does not mean you can speak anything against the court. They (police) should know where they stand in protocol,” the judge added.

The court noted that the tenor of the averments in the affidavit by a senior police officer was “overbearing and recriminatory”, adopted an “unmistakable condescending tone” with regard to judicial orders and observations, was “disturbing” and contained “misdirecting asseverations”.

The court also noted that the averments in the affidavit were “sarcastic” and asked “is he (officer) trying to make fun of the court?”

Mavunkal was arrested by the district Crime Branch which has been investigating a cheating case of ₹10 crore from different people. Mavunkal had allegedly borrowed the amount from various people saying he was in need of funds.