File photo of Kerala Finance Minister KM Mani
Kerala Finance Minister KM Mani is facing demands for his removal from the cabinet after a court today refused to stop investigations into whether he took one crore rupees to renew the licenses of bars that were shut down last year.
Here are 10 developments in the story:
The state High Court said whether KM Mani should continue as minister while investigations were on against him "is a matter of his conscience" but added that "Caesar's wife should be above suspicion."
Kerala's vigilance department had petitioned the court requesting that the investigation against Mr Mani be stopped.
The court said: "Why are you worried about the investigations? It concerns public money. The common man cannot have a feeling that no investigation has been conducted in a case when accused is a minister."
A Kerala hotelier has alleged that the 82-year-old minister demanded Rs 5 crores and finally settled for Rs one crore to renew licences of bars shut down after a ban.
The vigilance bureau had earlier told the court earlier this year that there was not enough evidence against him.
After the court order, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who has defended Mr Mani for almost a year, said that he must resign. "We will discuss with our leaders in the morning and decide," Mr Chandy told reporters.
Mr Mani is a leader of the Kerala Congress party, one of the seven allies of the Congress in the state's ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) coalition that has a razor thin majority in the assembly.
Congress sources say the party can't ask its ally to step down, but can tell him that after the court's comments, it will be difficult for him to continue.
The court order comes just after the ruling coalition suffered a defeat in the civic polls seen as a semi-final before assembly elections next year. The opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) won the Panchayat election.
The opposition has been demanding the finance minister's resignation ever since the allegations surfaced in November 2014. Left Democratic Front lawmakers had tried to prevent Mr Mani from presenting the state's Budget in March this year, turning the state assembly into a battlefield with chairs and mics ripped out and scuffles between members of the two sides.
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