On earlier occasions, the government had always sought adjournments.
Justice V K Mohanan, before whom the petition came up today, permitted the government to withdraw it. The court also allowed the AG's plea to reserve their right to file the application again.
During the earlier hearing,the court had orally asked the government why it was shying away from giving documents to Achuthanandan while the accused in the case had not opposed the move.
Justice V K Mohanan in his Jan 22 order said the court is expected to show transparency and fairness in proceedings, whether it is state, corporate entity or private individual and had posted the case for today.
The court had then asked the government why it had filed an appeal when it was really a case between K A Rauf, the estranged relative of Industries minister P K Kunhalikutty and Achuthanandan.
The case had been registered on the basis of alleged disclosures by Rauf at a press meet in Kozhikode on Jan 28, 2011 that Kunhalikutty had asked several key witnesses in the case to turn hostile and had offered them pecuniary benefits.
The scandal pertains to allegations that an ice cream parlour in Kozhikode district was used as a cover for running a sex racket in the late 1990s.
Though Kunhalikutty never became an accused in the case, he had come under a cloud in the wake of the scandal and even had to quit the ministry then.
