Supreme Court grants medical bail to Kerala CM's ex-aide Sivasankar in Life Mission case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's former Principal Secretary M. Sivasankar, who is facing money laundering charges in the state government's flagship Life Mission case.

A bench, headed over by Justice M.M. Sundresh made absolute the interim medical bail granted to Sivasankar in August last year and then extended from time to time.

The bench, also comprising Justice S.V.N. Bhatti, passed the bail order after perusal of medical records and clarified that it has not gone into the merits of the case.

Earlier, the top court had asked Sivasankar to undergo a medical examination at Puducherry’s Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) demanded that the retired bureaucrat be examined in any government hospital outside Kerala.

The anti-money laundering agency had opposed the grant of interim relief saying that Sivasankar's application is based on certifications issued by private hospitals.

In August last year, the Supreme Court had ordered release of the applicant on interim bail for undergoing spine surgery in a hospital of his choice after it was pointed out that Sivasankar has serious health issues and needs expert treatment.