Kochi, Nov 23 (IANS): The Kerala High Court Wednesday dismissed as unfounded Leader of Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan's fears relating to the ongoing probe into the Kozhikode ice-cream parlour sex case allegedly involving state minister P.K. Kunhalikutty.
Achuthanandan's counsel requested that the court make a detailed evaluation in the progress of the investigation and stop the report of the case which is going to be filed before Dec 22.
But the court refused to accept both the requests and said the leader's fears were unfounded.
The advocate general appearing for the state government informed the court that the investigation into the case was progressing in the right manner and 22 witnesses were examined since Sep 27 when the case last came up for hearing.
On Sep 27, the court dismissed a petition filed by Achuthanandan seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe.
Achuthanandan as chief minister in January ordered a fresh inquiry by the state police in the wake of some revelations. Rauf, whose wife is the sister of Kunhalikutty's wife, made allegations against Kunhalikutty at a press conference.
The case of sexual abuse of a minor girl, allegedly involving Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader Kunhalikutty, who is now the state industry minister, was ordered closed by the courts in 2006.
The alleged sex racket in early 1990s involved an ice-cream parlour in Kozhikode as its base and was named the "ice cream parlour sex case" by the media.US to stress test 31 banks against severe recession
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Washington, Nov 23 (IANS) The US Federal Reserve has announced that it would carry out a new round of stress tests next year on the nation's 31 largest financial institutions to determine whether they were well-capitalized to withstand a severe economic downturn.
The upcoming stress tests on an expanded list of US financial institutions come at a time when investors' worries on the contagion of the eurozone debt crisis and exposure of the country's financial institutions to the eurozone debt turmoil have led to recent market gyrations.
The US central bank began to carry out its annual stress tests on the country's major financial institutions in 2009 in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, reported Xinhua.
The Fed added 12 new institutions to its stress testing list after examining 19 in 2011, stating that any financial institutions with assets worth more than $50 billion would be subject to the tests as they were designated as systemically important agencies by the Dodd-Frank Act.
"The level of detail and analysis expected in each institution's capital plan will vary based on the company's size, complexity, risk profile, and scope of operations," the Fed said in a statement Tuesday.
These institutions were asked to submit their capital plans before Jan 9 next year to show they had adequate capital reserves to cope with projected loan losses from a recession, it said.