Writ plea referred to Division Bench

A single judge of the Kerala High Court on Thursday referred to a Division Bench a public interest writ petition challenging the appointment of Jiji Thomson as Chief Secretary.

The petition was filed by N. Sudhakaran, Communist Party of India(Marxist) activist from Kochi.

The petitioner had also challenged Mr. Thomson’s appointment as Additional Chief Secretary. He said the appointment was void as it had been made without obtaining the mandated Vigilance clearance from the Vigilance Department, Department of Personnel and Training, Union government, Central Vigilance Commission, and Central Bureau of Investigation. Mr. Thomson’s appointment would sabotage the prosecution of the accused in the palmolein case. The State government would not be able to initiate disciplinary action against Mr. Thomson if he was appointed Chief Secretary, Mr. Sudhakaran said.