Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 27 (IANS): One of Kerala's top and once most powerful bureaucrat M. Sivasankar, presently out on bail in the infamous gold smuggling case, has approached the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) to revoke his suspension.

While serving as the principal secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Sivasankar applied for leave for a year in July 2020 and then proceeded for leave. But on July 17, 2020 he was suspended from service after his links with the prime accused in the gold smuggling, Swapna Suresh, surfaced.

He was arrested in October 2020 and was in jail for 98 days.

Sivasankar's suspension was revoked on January 5, 2022 and is now posted as the principal secretary Sports and Youth Affairs.

He has approached the CAT stating that he has done nothing wrong and it was on account of a media trial that he had to face all the trouble and he was never heard before his suspension, and hence the suspension period should be revoked.

One reason for his present move is, since he is to superannuate on January 31, he is aiming to set his records right and is expecting a favourable order from the CAT.