KOCHI: The Kerala High Court has criticized the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for prolonging the investigation in the case related to Karuvannur Cooperative Bank. The court said that it would not allow the ED probe to continue indefinitely.

"People are losing faith in cooperative societies. Cooperative societies are not for millionaires but for common people. Poor people invest their hard-earned money in cooperative societies. However, this money is lost. With this, they lose their faith in cooperative societies. This is what is happening now in cooperative societies," Justice Devan Ramachandran pointed out.

Justice Devan Ramachandran made the remarks while considering the petition filed by Ali Sabri, the 15th accused in the Karuvannur case. The court asked how long the investigation would continue. The court added that prolongation of the investigation would affect the future of cooperative societies.