A special court here on Friday ordered a preliminary anti-corruption inquiry against former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and five of his Cabinet colleagues on the suspicion of having favoured relatives and friends in appointments to top posts in statutory Corporations and State-controlled entities during the tenure of the previous United Democratic Front (UDF) government.
Inquiry Commissioner and Special Judge, Vigilance, A. Bahaurudeen directed the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) to state on February 6 whether the allegations against the UDF politicians revealed a prima facie cognisable offence and warranted the registration of a case.
The decree was widely interpreted as a political reversal for the Opposition, which had successfully campaigned for the ouster of former Industries Minister E.P. Jayarajan from the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government on identical charges of nepotism in October.
Former Ministers K.M. Mani, V.S. Sivakumar, P.K. Jayalakshmi, Anoop Jacob, and K.C. Joseph would come within the ambit of the precursory anti-corruption inquiry. So would UDF leaders R. Selvaraj, V.M. Ummer and M. Vincent.
Legal Advisor C.C. Augustine dispelled media reports that Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala also came under the scope of the precursory probe. He pointed out that Mr. Ramesh was not a respondent in the petition filed by the complainant, Hafiz, and hence not a party to the legal proceedings. The VACB had made no statement that it would inquire Mr. Ramesh in this connection.
The court order was the first emphatic step in the legal process triggered by a private complainant, Hafeez, in October.
The VACB said it would form a special team to conduct the “quick verification.” The agency had drawn up questionnaires on the basis of the evidence collected. It has also written to the government seeking files relating to the contentious appointments. The case was sure to rivet public attention in the days to come given its political overtones.
