Kerala govt to move High Court against bail to ED attack accused, names own prosecutor as respondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In an unprecedented legal move, the Kerala government has decided to file an appeal in the High Court against the bail granted to the ninth accused in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials' assault case. Strikingly, the state will name its own Public Prosecutor, Geena Kumari, as a respondent in the petition, following allegations of collusion with the defence.

The decision was finalised after the direct intervention of the Director General of Prosecution, T. Asaf Ali. Official orders terminating Geena Kumari’s appointment as the Public Prosecutor for this case are expected to be issued imminently.

According to government sources, the administration took the drastic step after police accused the prosecutor of deliberately weakening the state's stance to help the accused, Hareesh, secure bail. Although Geena Kumari, an LDF government appointee, has her tenure valid until October, the police department strongly pushed for her immediate removal citing professional negligence.

Investigative reports reveal that the police had submitted a detailed objection on the 18th of this month, listing 13 crucial reasons why bail should be denied to the accused. While the Public Prosecutor forwarded the police report to the court, she reportedly failed to raise any verbal opposition against the bail application.

Furthermore, police officials pointed out that despite having a one-week window before the hearing, the prosecutor failed to requisition the case diary or any other critical investigative documents. Instead, she reportedly informed the court that the investigation was nearing completion and that further custodial interrogation of the accused was unnecessary, effectively paving the way for his release.