Corruption & nepotism: Lok Ayukta dismisses plea against Pinarayi Vijayan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala Lok Ayukta has dismissed the petition filed against chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and former cabinet colleagues, alleging nepotism and corruption in sanctioning funds from the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF). The petition, filed in 2018 by R S Sasikumar, sought the invocation of Section 14 of the Lok Ayukta Act to disqualify the CM and cabinet ministers from holding public positions, claiming norm violations in spending public money.
Lok Ayukta Justice Cyriac Joseph in his judgment said the anti-corruption body was competent to probe the complaint and observed that formalities were not followed while sanctioning funds from CMDRF.
‘CM, ministers did not make personal gains’
Money was disbursed even without an application from the beneficiaries, the Lok Ayukta noted. However, the Lok Ayukta rejected the case saying that there was no evidence to substantiate the petitioner's claim that CM and his cabinet colleagues had indulged in corruption or nepotism. While stressing that CMDRF was public money, Justice Cyriac Joseph observed that the CM and ministers did not make any personal benefits in this connection.
Though Lok Ayukta and two Upa Lok Ayuktas rejected the petition unanimously, the Upa Lok Ayuktas, Justice Babu Mathew P Joseph and Justice Harun-Ul-Rashid, took a different position with regard to the maintainability of the petition. They said Lok Ayukta doesn't have the powers to sit in judgment on decisions collectively taken by the state cabinet. "It can only deal with individual actions/inactions by public servants. The impropriety of a decision, if any, taken by the council of ministers, which is a constitutional body, stands outside the purview of the Lok Ayukta Act," said Justice Harun-Ul-Rashid. The other Upa Lok Ayukta also shared the view that the propriety of cabinet decisions cannot be probed by Lok Ayukta.
The basis of the petition was the decisions taken by the council of ministers on 27/7/2017, 24/1/2018 and 4/10/2017 to give financial assistance to the families of late NCP leader Uzhavoor Vijayan (Rs 25 lakh), late K K Ramachandran Nair, MLA (Rs 8 lakh) and late Pravin, civil police officer, who died in accident while on escort duty of CPM former state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. The petition against the CM was the prime reason that prompted the state government to defang the anti-corruption body by amending the Lok Ayukta Act. As per the amendment, the Lok Ayukta findings are not binding on the government. However, governor Arif Mohammed Khan is yet to sign the bill.
The Lok Ayukta also rejected the petitioner's plea that Upa Lok Ayuktas, who attended the release of an autobiography in memory of former MLA Ramachandran Nair and wrote articles praising him, should recuse themselves from pronouncing the verdict in the petition. Sasikumar had filed a writ petition in the Kerala high court after Lok Ayukta sat on the case a year after the completion of the hearing. Following which, the Lok Ayukta referred the case to a three-member bench, citing the difference of opinion between the division bench judges.