The HC Registrar (Vigilance) ordered Monday a probe into the conduct of additional chief judicial magistrate (economic offences) R V Raju, who allegedly failed to record the statement of accused Saritha S Nair. Nair approached the court to record a secret statement. The magistrate made sure there was no one in the courtroom and heard her for 20 minutes but did not record.
He asked Nair to give her statement to the jail authorities and kept her lawyer from the process. Meanwhile, a Bench of justice S S Satheeshchandran asked the HC registrar to seek explanation from the Pathanamthitta magistrate on a 30-day remand granted to Tenni Joppeh.