Court finds prima facie evidence against CPM leaders in Karuvannur case, allows trial 

KOCHI: The Prevention of Money Laundering Act Court (PMLA) has found prima facie evidence against several CPM leaders and ruled that a trial can proceed against all 28 accused in the Karuvannur Cooperative Bank fraud case. The court was considering the supplementary charge sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Under the new provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), courts must first issue notice and hear arguments on whether sufficient grounds exist against the accused before formally proceeding with a trial. These procedures were carried out in the present case.

The court heard the accused in detail under Section 223(1) of the BNS and concluded that there is enough material to proceed with the trial. The ED has filed a supplementary charge sheet against 28 accused in the PMLA court in Kochi. Trial can be started against all the newly added accused. The court also assessed that there is evidence for it. The 28 accused include leaders like A C Moideen MLA, K Radhakrishnan MP, and M M Varghese, who were Thrissur district secretaries of the CPM.

The ED claims that the irregularities were initiated by the CPM-led governing body in 2012 and 2013. The ED also found that the party workers themselves led the irregularities granting of loans and granting loans on the same collateral. The ED also found that the land for the party office and the construction of the building were using the money made through these irregularities.

Earlier, the ED had filed a charge sheet against 53 members of the governing body. The trial has already begun. Subsequently, a supplementary charge sheet has been filed by including the leaders as accused. The PMLA court has also ordered in favour of the ED.