Sixteen Cabinet Ministers belonging to the first Pinarayi Vijayan Government (2016 – 2021), including the Chief Minister, who participated in the cabinet meetings which took decisions to make the payments to the alleged ineligible hands and the then Chief Secretary are the respondents in the case in connection with the ‘Abuse’ of CM Disaster Relief Fund (CMDRF). The entire political Kerala, political students and at least the Keralites throughout the world have been watching what is happening in the Lokayukta sitting on March 31, 2023. They have been awaiting the verdict since the last one year. But, the entire ‘eager community’ have to satisfy themselves with the two-member bench action of referring the case to a three-judge bench, thanks to the differences of opinion among the two judges who heard the case.
R S Sashikumar, the former Syndicate member of Kerala University, is the complainant who filed the case in 2018. His complaint alleges that the decision to provide financial assistance to the families of the late Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Uzhavoor Vijayan, former Chengannur MLA K K Ramachandran Nair and Police Constable P Praveen. NCP is a constituent of the CPM-led ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF). Late Ramachandran MLA was a CPM leader. Praveen died in a road accident while escorting former CPM state secretary (late) Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. Therefore, the allegation was about blatant favouritism and the unilateral decision taken by CM Pinarayi.
R S Sashikumar also demanded that the amount paid to the above families should be recovered from those who participated in the cabinet meeting that resolved to make those payments, and those who accepted the purses should be declared ineligible if Lokayukta finds the misappropriation in the payments.
Kerala Lokayukta admitted the complaint in 2019. It issued a notice to Pianarayi Vijayan and a couple of Ministers in the then Cabinet. Even though the trial was completed a year before, Lokayukta had not issued the verdict yet. In the meantime, the petitioner approached Kerala High Court against the inordinate delay on the part of the Lokayukta in delivering its verdict.
Lokayukta’s current powers are enormous. Citizens can bring grievances or complaints of corruption, nepotism, mal-administration, and/or abuse of power, among others, against public servants, including the Chief Minister, MLA or State Minister, before the Lokayukta.
To conduct the investigations and inquiries, the Governor appoints one Lokayukta (a retired Supreme Court Judge or High Court Chief Justice) and two Upa-Lokayuktas (retired or serving High Court Judges) on the advice of the CM and in consultation with the Speaker and the Leader of the Opposition.
As per the Kerala Lokayukta Act 1999, the orders issued by the Lokayukta or an Upa-Lokayukta after investigation are binding in nature on the Government or the competent authorities, which include the Governor, the Chief Minister or the Minister of the department concerned.
To add insult to the injury, last year Pinarayi regime attempted to amend the Lokayukta Act. The people, in general and the Opposition, in particular, smelt a rat in it, that is, to pluck the teeth and nails of Lokayukta and make it a lap dog instead of the watchdog. The Government promulgated an Ordinance to reduce the powers of Lokayukta. However, the State Governor has not signed the Act yet. Therefore, the previous clauses still exist.
One of the State Government’s proposals was to bestow the competent authority (The Governor and the Chief Minister) with the power to overrule the Lokayukta. In another words, the Governor or the Chief Minister can “accept or reject the declaration” to remove the public servant from the position. But, if it is not rejected within three months of receiving the Lokayukta report, the direction shall be “deemed to have been accepted”. However, this last clause is nothing but an eye wash to create an impression that even after the amendment, the Lokayukta will be impartial.
There was a specific reason for the attempt to remove the powers of Lokayukta: K T Jaleel, the Higher Education Minister in the first Pinarayi Ministry (2016 – 2021) and all-time blue-eyed boy of Pinarayi, suffered a Lokayukta verdict for the alleged nepotism in the appointments. And, he lost his ‘coveted chair’.
Differences of opinion in the two-member Bench are reported to be: (1) If Lokayukta authorised to examine the Cabinet decision to make payments from CMDRF (2) Is there substance in the allegations that there are nepotism and corruption in approving payments from CMDRF.
Petitioner’s counsel, Adv George Poonthottam’s words carried ‘dissatisfaction’ in the decision to refer the case to a three-member Bench. He opined if at all there were differences of opinion, they should have written it. He wondered if one and a half years was required to write a one and a half-page order.
The petitioner R S Sasikumar maintains that he does not expect justice from Lokayukta; he would go ahead with legal proceedings.
The people of Kerala are disappointed too. They are afraid, justice appears to be light years away.
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