The Kerala High Court on Wednesday directed the investigating officials to not register a case against former Transport Minister Thomas Chandy for allegedly encroaching on paddy land in the state’s Alappuzha district, ANI reported. The court said that the available documents do not substantiate the allegations of land encroachment.
Observing that Chandy did not encroach on the land intentionally, the court also dismissed two pleas that sought immediate action against Chandy. The petitioners, Kainakari gram panchayat member Vinod and Communist Party of India leader Mukundan, will now file an appeal in the Supreme Court, local daily Mathrubhumi reported.
The court has also asked the government to complete a survey of the area in three months.
The Congress leader had resigned on November 15, 2017, amid furore over the allegations. A company that he owned allegedly violated the law to build a road through paddy fields to his resort in Alappuzha. A fact-finding report by Alappuzha District Collector TV Anupama had confirmed the illegal encroachment. In his defence, Chandy had said he built the resort 13 years ago and it was not right to raise any allegations about it now.
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