On Tuesday, the Kerala High Court issued an interim order shielding Indian cricketer S Sreesanth from arrest in connection with a cheating case where he stands accused.

Justice Mohammad Nias CP issued the order following the public prosecutor's statement that the matter has been resolved between the involved parties. He instructed Sreesanth's counsel to include the de facto complainant and scheduled the case for additional hearings on December 8.

Sreesanth filed an anticipatory bail plea, asserting his innocence in the case filed by the Kannur Town Police, claiming wrongful implication. The incident in question reportedly took place in 2019 and involved a transaction between the complainant and two other individuals (co-accused). Initially, the accused supposedly convinced the complainant to invest in a villa project. Subsequently, the co-accused purportedly suggested redirecting the investment towards establishing a cricketing academy near the Mookambika temple in Kollur, with Sreesanth's guidance.

The complainant alleged that the co-accused pledged a partnership in the proposed cricket academy. Based on these assurances, the complainant transferred funds to the first and second accused in 2019. Subsequently, when the proposed plans failed to materialize, the complainant filed a cheating case against the first and second accused, along with Sreesanth. Consequently, Sreesanth filed an anticipatory bail plea, asserting his lack of involvement in the alleged fraudulent incident.

His petition contended that he merely offered advice without any monetary gain when approached for guidance regarding the establishment of a cricket academy.

Additionally, he asserted that he hadn't engaged in any financial transactions with either the complainant or the first and second accused. Moreover, the cricketer clarified that he was unaware of the co-accused using his name in their interactions with the complainant. Sreesanth emphasized that these representations were made without his authorization or knowledge.

Sreesanth also voiced his suspicion of a potential conspiracy behind the belated filing of the complaint. He noted that the timing coincided with a positive phase in his career, raising concerns of ulterior motives behind the sudden accusation.

Sreesanth was represented by a team of advocates including Renjith B Marar, Lakshmi N Kaimal, P Rajkumar, Keshavraj Nair, Arun Poomulli, Preetha S Chandran, Abhijith Sreekumar, Anand Remesh, CR Rekha, and Abhiram S.