Court rejects K Babu’s plea to acquit him

Kochi: The Muvattupuzha Vigilance Court on Wednesday rejected Congress leader and former excise minister K. Babu’s request to acquit him in a disproportionate assets (DA) case, which may lead to his facing trial.

The court also turned down his request to consider transport allowance as income while dismissing his discharge petition.

Earlier, a probe by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) had found that he had allegedly amassed assets worth Rs 25 lakh disproportionate to his known sources of income from July 1, 2007 to May 31, 2016. However, Babu approached the Vigilance Court claiming that the VACB did not consider travel expenses which amounted to Rs 40 lakh.

The public prosecutor, while countering the plea, submitted that the petition could not be considered at this stage and that the complainant can raise the matter during trial. The VACB had registered the assets case against Babu and two others in September 2016 following a preliminary inquiry into the wealth amassed by him while serving as MLA and minister from 2007 to 2016.  Last year, the VACB filed a chargesheet against Babu and exonerated the two others.