The case relates to allegations that surfaced in late 1990s that an ice cream parlour in Kozhikode city was being used as a cover to lure young women into prostitution.
A retired Kerala high court judge was questioned in two days by the special investigation team probing the Ice-cream parlour sex case today regarding certain allegations against him in the matter.
Justice (retd) K Narayana Kurup, who was also former acting chief justice of Madras high court, was questioned by a police team led by Thrissur commissioner P Vijayan.
Yesterday, the SIT questioned Justice(retd) Thankappan at his residence at nearby Chottanikara.
Justice Kurup said the team had also questioned his son-in-law a month ago.
The SIT, led by ADGP Vinson M Paul, had earlier sent notices to the two judges to appear before it for interrogation following allegations by KA Rauf, a close relative of IUML general secretary PK Kunhalikutty, who is allegedly involved in the case. Justice Kurup had sought three weeks time to file a detailed reply before SIT.
Rauf had alleged that the two former judges had delivered judgments favouring Kunhalikutty, a former minister.
Justice Thankappan last night denied that he was 'questioned' and said the officers had come to "collect some information" in the case and he had told them what he knew. He had maintained that police cannot question him without taking the court's permission even though he was a retired high court judge.
The case relates to allegations that surfaced in late 1990s that an ice cream parlour in Kozhikode city was being used as a cover to lure young women into prostitution.
Kunhalikutty quit as industries minister in the Congress-led UDF government in 2004 in the wake of the allegations. He, however, did not figure as an accused in the case.
Justice Kurup said that the SIT team was in his house for little more than an hour and they had come to take his statement with regard to the allegations made against him in the ice-cream Parlour case.
The present proceedings by SIT were "without jurisdiction" and they were "acting at the behest of the state government," Justice Kurup alleged.
The SIT team had not applied their mind independently and that will reflect on the validity of the investigation, he said adding they were "acting under dictation," he said.
"They asked me certain questions and I explained. I stated that baseless allegations were cooked up by political parties," he said
Justice Kurup also said retired judgesare are entitled to 100 per cent immunity from civil and criminal proceedings under sect 3(1) of the Judges Protection Act, 1985.
He said a petition seeking CBI probe into the case had come up before him. That plea was not allowed as it was a 'mere' sex scandal, he said, adding a former minister was allegedly involved and that by itself is not sufficient to order a CBI probe.
"Sex or sensational nature of the crime or the involvement of high profile offenders is not a valid ground to decide the question as to whether a case has to be inquired by CBI," he said.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}