Lok Ayukta gives clean chit to CM Pinarayi Vijayan in CMDRF case

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Lok Ayukta on Monday gave a clean chit to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in a case of alleged misuse of the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF).

Following a split decision, a two-member bench of the Lok Ayukta had referred the case to a full bench earlier this year.

Reacting to the development, petitioner Sasikumar accused the quasi-judicial body officials of slipshod work saying not long ago, there were around 2000 cases, which has reduced to 200 clearly indicating that the people have lost faith in this body.

"Now I will approach the Kerala High Court as this is a clear verdict which shows professional dishonesty," said Sasikumar.

The case was filed in 2018 alleging misuse of the funds in the CMDRF. R S Sasikumar, a former Syndicate member of Kerala University, complained against Vijayan and his 17 colleagues in the previous Cabinet with regard to the misuse of CMDRF.

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He had alleged that the money was given to those who were not eligible for the relief, including the family of a deceased CPI(M) legislator, the family of a top leader from a Left ally who passed away, and also to a Kerala Police officer who died when his vehicle met with an accident while accompanying then top CPI(M) leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.

The petitioner pointed out that the decisions of the cabinet amounted to corruption, favouritism, nepotism and lack of integrity while exercising their authority as public servants. Now, all eyes are on Sasikumar's next move.

The CPI(M) government last year passed the Lok Ayukta (Amendment) Bill, 2022, taking away much of the authority of the body.

The Kerala Lok Ayukta Act, 1999, passed by the then LDF government, mandated that a public servant, including the Chief Minister and Ministers, vacate their office in the event that the Lok Ayukta or Upa Lok Ayukta submits a report holding them guilty of corruption.

The report was binding on the government, with the competent authority (the Governor, government or Chief Minister, depending on the accused party) required to accept the finding and submit an action taken report to the Lok Ayukta within 90 days.

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As per the amendment passed by the Assembly last year, the Lok Ayukta or Upa Lok Ayukta can now only make a recommendation to the competent authority, which can then accept or reject it.

The Governor is no longer one of the competent authorities with the Legislative Assembly, instead, taking over if the Chief Minister is the accused.

In the case of Cabinet ministers, the competent authority is the Chief Minister and for MLAs, it is the Speaker.

The Opposition had alleged that the amendment had been introduced to protect the chief minister and his Cabinet colleagues in the wake of the pending case with the anti-corruption body.

In 2021, the then higher education minister K T Jaleel had to resign from his post in the wake of a Lok Ayukta verdict in a case related to nepotism in appointments.

With inputs from agencies

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