Kerala High Court on Thursday directed the Enforcement Directorate not to arrest former secretary in the chief minister’s office, M. Sivasankar, till October 23 in the gold smuggling case.

The suspended Sivasankar, questioned by multiple agencies over a money-laundering angle in the gold smuggling case and also for alleged connections with one of the prime accused, had sought anticipatory bail after receiving a non-cooperation notice and a fresh summons from the ED.

Justice Ashok Menon issued the direction after Sivasankar’s counsel assured the court that his client would not flee. Senior lawyer P.

Vijayabhanu, who appeared for the bureaucrat, said Sivasankar would appear before the ED whenever summoned and also cooperate with the probe.