Cong MP sparks bribery row against judiciary

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Congress MP K Sudhakaran has alleged that he was witness to a bribe of .Rs 21 lakh paid to a Supreme Court judge in the 1990s. Sudhakaran said that the bribe was paid in Delhi when K Karunakaran was the Kerala chief minister and licences to 21 liquor bars were quashed by the high court. The money was meant for a favourable verdict against the high court order.

“When I was told the money was being paid to the judiciary, I said I do not believe it, and they asked me to accompany them. I went because my own case was pending and I wanted to see for myself the credibility of the bench,” Sudhakaran said. He said he was an onlooker when . 21 lakh was paid in Delhi and another Rs 15 lakh was handed over at a later date.

The MP made the startling allegations while speaking at a meeting convened in Kottarakara to express solidarity with former minister and Kerala Congress (B) leader R Balakrishna Pillai, who was sentenced last week by the Supreme Court to one year’s rigorous imprisonment for corruption in the Idamalayar hydroelectric project case. Sudhakaran later said he had made the statement with full knowledge of its implications. “It is the truth, though I have no material proof for the matter.

I am making the statement knowing the implications , and not in an emotional state,” Sudhakaran said. Reacting to Sudhakaran’s statement , Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan said Sudhakaran had not clarified as to which judge had accepted the money and that the courts were unlikely to view the allegation lightly. The allegation prompted the CPM leadership to ask why the MP had kept quite for so long after being witness to bribery.

Achuthanandan and his cabinet colleague PK Gurudasan denounced the Opposition for organising a meet to ‘honour’ Balakrishna Pillai, who was convicted by the court in a corruption case. The Kochi Bar Council demanded an inquiry on the allegations made against the judiciary. Besides the allegation by Sudhakaran , there had recently been allegations against two high court judges in Kerala in connection with the ice-cream parlour sex racket case.