The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) has opened a criminal investigation against former Industries Minister E.P. Jayarajan on the suspicion of having accorded undue pecuniary advantage to a relative of his by appointing him as head of a government holding company.
Legal adviser, VACB, C.C. Augustine told Inquiry Commissioner and Special Judge, Vigilance, A. Badharudeen on Saturday that a preliminary inquiry against Mr. Jayarajan had revealed a cognizable offence. The findings, which have been largely kept under wraps, have warranted the registration of a case against him on the suspicion of conspiracy to commit nepotism.
The other two accused in the case are Additional Chief Secretary Paul Antony and the alleged beneficiary of the suspected favouritism Sudheer Nambiar. Mr. Nambiar is the son of Communist Party of India (Marxist) central committee member P.K. Sreemathy, MP.
ADVERTISEMENT
The government had come under public criticism in October last when Mr. Jayarajan appointed Mr. Nambiar as head of the Kerala State Industrial Enterprises (KSIE), the custodian of the sprawling Air Cargo Complex in the Thiruvananthapuram airport. The holding company also operated business centres in Kochi and Kozhikode.
The Opposition had accused Mr. Jayarajan of showing a cavalier attitude towards law. Mr. Nambiar’s controversial appointment fuelled months of political wrangling and also thousands of resentful posts by the youth on social media.
The controversy prompted pro-ruling front litigants to approach the court demanding that the “preferential appointments” made during the tenure of the previous government also be investigated simultaneously.
ADVERTISEMENT
Consequently, the court ordered that former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and five of his Cabinet colleagues also face a preliminary inquiry on the suspicion of showing favouritism in government appointments.
Both the sensational probes have come to be widely regarded as a benchmark test of the agency’s resolve to fight high-level corruption under its often hard-charging VACB Director Jacob Thomas.