Thiruvananthapuram. The Kerala High Court on Friday rejected the petition challenging the arrest of Pankaj Bhandari, CEO of Chennai-based company Smart Creations, in the much-discussed Sabarimala gold theft case. The court clearly stated that sufficient grounds were not presented to declare the arrest illegal. Justice A Badruddin, while hearing the petition, said that no serious violation was found in the process of arrest, which could make it illegal.
Smart Creations CEO Pankaj Bhandari had claimed in his petition that his arrest was illegal as mandatory procedures (such as giving notice of arrest and giving reasons) were not followed. However, the prosecution termed these claims as baseless and said that all legal formalities were followed. The court held that Bhandari could not be produced before the Special Vigilance Court, Kollam in time by the arresting officer, but the delay was due to medical examination and the distance covered from Thiruvananthapuram to Kollam, a distance of about 71 kilometres. The Court said that the arrest cannot be considered illegal on this basis alone.
