A court in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday rejected a report by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau absolving former Kerala minister KM Mani in a bribery case, The Hindu reported.

Mani is accused of taking a bribe of Rs 1 crore to renew the licences of 400 bars in 2014, when he was finance minister in the previous United Democratic Front government led by the Congress. In March, the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau had informed the court that it had found no evidence implicating the chairman of the Kerala Congress (Mani) in what is known as the “bar bribery scam”.

Mani was forced to resign from his post in 2015 because of the allegations.

In his order on Tuesday, inquiry commissioner and Special Judge D Ajith Kumar said “this court is disinclined to accept the referral report”. He posted the matter to December 10 “by awaiting approval or sanction for conducting a further enquiry”.

The court observed that the investigation into the case was not complete, The News Minute reported. The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau had filed a case against Mani in 2014 but later changed its stance.

Mani is one of India’s longest-serving legislators, having represented the Pala constituency in Kottayam ever since it was formed in 1965. He has won 13 elections and presented 13 budgets as the state’s finance minister.