The Supreme Court today raised questions about the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) involvement in its request to transfer the trial of the Kerala gold smuggling case to Karnataka while adjourning the matter for six weeks.

A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti, upon a request for accommodation being made on behalf of ED, said, "Don't think you are interested really...either Mr Raju is not available, or some other difficulty is coming...".

The court was informed that Additional Solicitor General SV Raju was unavailable. It was also noted that the Enforcement Directorate had made a similar request on a previous occasion.

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the State of Kerala, also expressed concern over repeated adjournments being sought.

Earlier, a bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SC Sharma, while hearing the Enforcement Directorate's petition to transfer the trial in the Kerala gold smuggling case to Karnataka, had raised concerns about the central government's authority to search diplomatic packages. Additional Solicitor General SV Raju requested additional time to respond to the query posed by the bench.

The case revolves around the seizure of 30 kg of gold that had been sent to the UAE consulate in Thiruvananthapuram, disguised as a diplomatic consignment.

On June 8, 2022, following a complaint by MLA and former Minister KT Jaleel, the Thiruvananthapuram cantonment police registered a case against Swapna Suresh, the prime accused in the gold smuggling operation. Suresh was charged under Section 153 (provoking riots) and Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

The Kerala Gold Smuggling case involves the illicit trafficking of gold into the state through diplomatic channels. The smuggling operation was uncovered on July 5, 2019, when the customs department intercepted a consignment of 30 kg of gold, valued at Rs. 14.82 crore, hidden in diplomatic baggage in Thiruvananthapuram.