New Delhi: The Supreme Court has rejected the petition filed by the state government challenging the cancellation of the vigilance investigation against Muslim League leader K M Shaji in the Plus Two bribery case. The SC has also dismissed the petition filed by the Enforcement Directorate challenging the High Court verdict that canceled the case against Shaji under the anti-money laundering law.

The bench, consisting of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih, dismissed the appeals, questioning the nature of the case and highlighting the lack of proper evidence to establish the charges. “What kind of a case is this,” the court asked. 

The SC dismissed the Vigilance appeal after reviewing the statements of 54 witnesses recorded by the vigilance so far. The Court inquired whether any of the witnesses had testified that Shaji had asked for or taken money. It asked the state’s lawyers to present such a statement if it existed, emphasising that it was looking for statements indicating demand or receipt of money, not hearsay.

However, the government argued that the investigation had not been completed and requested permission to file a charge sheet. The government further contended that it was the trial court’s responsibility to decide whether Shaji was guilty or not. The Supreme Court clarified that if this request was accepted, it would allow governments to file frivolous cases against any politician, which would not be appropriate. Following this reasoning, the Supreme Court upheld the High Court’s decision to quash the case.

Vigilance had registered a case against Shaji in 2020 based on a complaint that he had taken a bribe of Rs 25 lakh for sanctioning Plus Two batches at Azhikode GHS in 2014. The Kerala High Court had earlier quashed this case, leading the state government to approach the Supreme Court. Senior advocates Neeraj Kishan Kaul and Standing Counsel Harshad V Hamid appeared on behalf of the state government, while Senior Advocates Nikhil Goel and Harris Beeran represented Shaji in the Supreme Court.