A Kerala court yesterday ordered police investigations into charges of amassing disproportionate wealth against former CJI (Chief Justice of India) K G Balakrishnan and family while the IT (Income Tax) department initiates probe in a related development.

Kochi’s police commissioner as well as the city’s Income Tax sleuths have both been directed to further investigate into allegations levelled against Balakrishnan’s two son-in-laws and brother for possessing unaccounted wealth disproportionate to known sources of income.

The allegations that had surfaced against Balakrishan last month have now intensified with court cases being filed against him by individuals and NGO’s apart from advocate’s body Kerala State Bar Council mounting pressure on state agencies to act.

The state bar council had unanimously passed a resolution requesting the President of India to order comprehensive investigations to look into the allegation against the former CJI.

The Hindu reported: “Acting on a private complaint, a Thiruvananthapuram court ordered the Kochi Police Commissioner to probe the allegations of amassing wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income against Justice Balakrishnan’s sons-in-law P. V. Sreenijan and M. J. Benny, and brother K. G. Bhaskaran.

The directive by the judicial magistrate A. M. Basheer was issued on a private complaint by one Francis Pradeeplal, who sought an inquiry into the allegations.

In a related development, the Income Tax investigation wing said it had begun a preliminary inquiry into the charges that the family members of Justice Balakrishnan, chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission. “Preliminary enquiry is on,” a source in the IT department told PTI in Kochi.