Summons for 210 people for phoning Kerala convict (Lead)
March 6th, 2012 - 9:14 pm ICT by IANSThiruvananthapuram, March 6 (IANS) A Kerala court here Tuesday directed that summons be served on 210 people, including politicians and policemen, for allegedly making phone calls to Kerala Congress chief R. Balakrishna Pillai, when he was serving a jail term last year.
Pillai, 76, whose party is in alliance with the ruling Congress-led coalition, was sentenced by the apex court to an year’s imprisonment in February last year in a corruption case.
The decision to issue summons to the 210 people was taken by an additional chief judicial magistrate after verifying documents presented by the cyber cell of the Kerala Police.
Pillai was in and out of the prison on parole and for medical treatment last year. As per the prison rules, it was against the law if a prisoner spoke to someone on telephone while serving a term, alleged petitioner Joy K.
Among those who allegedly spoke to Pillai on phone during his jail term were state Congress president Ramesh Chennithala, Pillai’s son and Forests and Environment, Sports and Cinema Minister K.B. Ganesh Kumar, political secretary to chief minister K.S. Vasudeva Sharma, police officials and reporters.
The case would next be heard May 6.
Pillai’s jail term was extended by a few days as a penalty for using the telephone while serving his term.
Pillai, along with 137 other jail inmates, was released Nov 1 last year under an amnesty scheme.
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Tags: amnesty scheme, apex court, balakrishna, chief minister, congress chief, congress president, convict, corruption case, jail inmates, judicial magistrate, kerala police, petitioner, pillai, police officials, political secretary, prison rules, ramesh chennithala, state congress, summons, vasudeva