C.M. Raveendran, additional private secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, on Tuesday approached the Kerala High Court seeking to stay the summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) directing him to appear on December 17 at its office in Kochi as part of a probe into the money laundering case linked with the diplomatic channel gold smuggling case.
Mr. Raveendran said he was yet to recover from his post-COVID illness.
He feared that the ED would detain him for long hours. In fact, he was not aware of the particulars of the case under investigation, for which his presence was required.
Besides, he further feared that that he would be coerced and compelled to make statements which were untrue and against his will. He also sought to allow him to have the presence of a legal practitioner of his choice during his appearance.
In fact, the Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act did not empower the investigation officer to interrogate a person for long duration who appeared before the ED in response to a summon if such a person was not an accused, he contended.
