Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 24 (IANS): Judge P.K. Haneefa, criticized for ordering a reinvestigation in the palm oil case allegedly involving Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Saturday requested the high court to place the case before another court.
The chief whip of the Kerala assembly P.C. George had Sep 10 hit out at the Special Vigilance Court judge accusing Haneefa of violating the apex court guidelines in the case.
Following the case now becoming a topic of media discussion and with him being attacked, Haneefa said he requested the high court to make suitable alternate arrangements for the case to be heard again.
After the vigilance department ruled there was no case against Chandy in the import of 15,000 tonnes of palm oil in 1992 while he was the finance minister, Haneefa Aug 8 ordered another probe.
George sent his petitions to President Pratibha Patil and the chief justice of India and Kerala high court chief justice, among others.
George Saturday told reporters that he will not withdraw his complaint.
"My complaint as an ordinary citizen of this country is that this judge has violated the rule of the land and especially a few Supreme Court judgments by ordering a reinvestigation. He has challenged even the apex court and hence I have made this complaint," George said.
Chandy reacted by saying: "I have always said that I have no complaints against the judiciary."
Veteran Communist Party of India-Marxist leader M.V. Jayarajan said: "The plan to put pressure on the judiciary appears to have clicked with Chandy and George playing their cards well."
Haneefa had Friday asked all the concerned parties in the case to be present at the hearing Saturday.
The case was registered in 1997 when the Communists were in power.
Former chief minister K. Karunakaran, then food minister T.H. Mustafa and bureaucrats P.J. Thomas and Jiji Thomson were charged by the vigilance department with causing a loss of Rs.2.32 crore by importing the oil from Malaysia at an enhanced price.
The Special Vigilance Court March 14 had permitted a further investigation, just before the assembly polls.