Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Thursday quashed the FIR filed by Vigilance department against Muslim League leader KM Shaji in the 2020 bribery case. The court pronounced its judgement while considering Shaji's plea stating that the case will not stand.
The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau registered the case against Shaji in 2020. As per the case, the Muslim League leader had accepted a bribe of Rs 25 lakh to obtain approval for the higher secondary batch in Azhikode school in 2013. The case was registered over a complaint filed by CPM leader Kuduvan Padmanabhan who was the former president of the Kannur block panchayat.
During the investigation into the case, Vigilance found that KM Shaji has amassed wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income. Subsequently, Vigilance officials raided his house and seized Rs 47,35,500. Following this, Shaji approached the Vigilance court seeking the return of the money seized by the officials. He claimed that the money was part of the election fund. But the court refused to hand over it citing irregularities in documents.
