<p>Also, the Kerala government's home department Tuesday launched proceedings for a vigilance probe against Balakrishnan's son-in-law P.V. Srinijin after receiving a letter from Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan.<br /><br />"It is high time Balakrishnan broke his silence over the allegations. The response I received from across the country to my remarks against him shows that it is high time Balakrishnan came out with what he has to say," Iyer told the media here.<br /><br />"With more allegations surfacing, it is best that he faces a judicial probe," added Iyer.<br />Iyer has been consistently taking on Balakrishnan after he first held a press conference Dec 27 demanding an investigation into how Srinijin, a Congress leader and a lawyer by profession, could acquire immense wealth in just three years.<br /><br />He stepped up pressure Monday, saying that a former high court judge recently tried to persuade him against raising the matter with the prime minister.<br /><br />Achuthanandan Monday ordered a vigilance probe against Srinijin on the basis of a complaint by from Shameer, a Kochi resident, and asked state Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan to initiate an inquiry.<br /><br />The home department Tuesday started the proceedings and passed on the chief minister's letter to the home secretary for further action.<br /><br />V.R. Krishna Iyer was the law and irrigation minister in the world's first elected Communist government in 1957 led by E.M.S. Namboodiripad in Kerala.<br />He was appointed a judge of the Kerala High Court in 1968 and elevated to the Supreme Court in 1973.<br /><br />He was a member of the apex court bench which passed a landmark ruling directing the government to provide free legal services to the accused in custody.<br />He retired from the apex court in November 1980.</p>
<p>Also, the Kerala government's home department Tuesday launched proceedings for a vigilance probe against Balakrishnan's son-in-law P.V. Srinijin after receiving a letter from Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan.<br /><br />"It is high time Balakrishnan broke his silence over the allegations. The response I received from across the country to my remarks against him shows that it is high time Balakrishnan came out with what he has to say," Iyer told the media here.<br /><br />"With more allegations surfacing, it is best that he faces a judicial probe," added Iyer.<br />Iyer has been consistently taking on Balakrishnan after he first held a press conference Dec 27 demanding an investigation into how Srinijin, a Congress leader and a lawyer by profession, could acquire immense wealth in just three years.<br /><br />He stepped up pressure Monday, saying that a former high court judge recently tried to persuade him against raising the matter with the prime minister.<br /><br />Achuthanandan Monday ordered a vigilance probe against Srinijin on the basis of a complaint by from Shameer, a Kochi resident, and asked state Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan to initiate an inquiry.<br /><br />The home department Tuesday started the proceedings and passed on the chief minister's letter to the home secretary for further action.<br /><br />V.R. Krishna Iyer was the law and irrigation minister in the world's first elected Communist government in 1957 led by E.M.S. Namboodiripad in Kerala.<br />He was appointed a judge of the Kerala High Court in 1968 and elevated to the Supreme Court in 1973.<br /><br />He was a member of the apex court bench which passed a landmark ruling directing the government to provide free legal services to the accused in custody.<br />He retired from the apex court in November 1980.</p>