Sivasankar approaches CAT to reclaim his suspension period

Thiruvananthapuram: The top bureaucrat in Kerala and one of the accused in the controversial gold smuggling case, M Sivasankar approached the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) to reclaim the days when he was under suspension.

While serving as the principal secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Sivasankar applied for leave for a year in July 2020 and then proceeded to leave. But on July 17, 2020, he was suspended from service after his links with the prime accused in the gold smuggling, Swapna Suresh, surfaced.

He was arrested in October 2020 and was in jail for 98 days.

Sivasankar's suspension was revoked on January 5, 2022, and is now posted as the principal secretary of Sports and Youth Affairs.

He has approached the CAT stating that he has done nothing wrong and it was on account of a media trial that he had to face all the trouble, and he was never heard before his suspension, and hence the suspension period should be revoked.

One reason for his present move is, since he is to superannuate on January 31, he is aiming to set his records right and is expecting a favourable order from the CAT.

IANS Input