Key Points

Shershad said the allegations raised in the notice are "baseless" and reiterated through a Facebook post that it was Govindan's son who leaked the letter.

"I have never accused the CPI-M or the party's state secretary. My allegation was specifically about the relationship between Govindan's son and UK-based businessman from Kerala, Rajesh Krishna, and I had only pointed out my suspicion that the son was behind the leak. I stand firmly by what I said earlier," he wrote.

He also alleged that Rajesh Krishna's role in the matter would eventually be exposed.

"A thief may escape for long, but one day he will be caught. That is the situation Rajesh Krishna is in today," he wrote.

Shershad said he has entrusted an advocate who handles his cases in the Delhi High Court, Ernakulam District Court and Family Court, to draft a detailed response to the legal notice.

According to him, the notice was delivered at his Chennai residence through registered post at 10:45 a.m. on Wednesday.

"The contents of the notice are completely false. I will be giving a clear reply to it," Shershad clarified in his post.

On Thursday, Govindan broke his silence and dismissed it as "absolute nonsense" and "baseless".

"I have by now started legal proceedings against the person. The party has no rhyme or reason to intervene in letters that has no basis. Krishna's unit in the party is directly under the national leadership and whatever needs to be done will be done by the politburo. You just wait as till May 2026 (when Assembly elections takes place) a lot many more baseless allegations will start emerging," Govindan said.

The controversy over the leaked letter has triggered a political storm in the state, with the businessman's allegations directly implicating the family of the State CPI-M Secretary.

- IANS