Pattoor link looms over EK Bharat Bhusha nentry into Kerala Administrative Tribunal

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even as the panel headed by Chief Justice Ashok Bhushan meets on Friday to select the administrative member for the Kerala Administrative Tribunal (KAT), one of the main contenders for the post and former chief secretary E.K. Bharat Bhushan’s role in the Pattoor case is set to come under the scanner.

The Lok Ayukta on Monday had issued notices to Bharat Bhushan and former additional chief secretary (revenue ) Nivedita P. Haran in the case, directing them to appear on September 11.

The notices were issued after admitting a review petition against its earlier order excluding the duo.

It may be recalled that only the name of Bharat Bhushan and another candidate came up when the selection committee met on May 23.

However, the selection was deferred due to certain technical issues. Subsequently, other candidates also submitted their applications for the post thus widening the choice.

Coming as it does  on the eve of the crucial selection for KAT which looks for people with impeccable integrity, the matter will be  closely scrutinised by  the high-level panel.

Apart from  Bharat Bhushan, the track record of other prominent candidates, including  DGPs K.S. Balasubramanain and M.N. Krishnamurthy, former forest chief  V. Gopinathan and  former MD KMML Michael Vetha Siromony will be examined.

The appointment is being made to the post which fell vacant following the completion of tenure by Mathew C. Kunnumkal. Sources said the members of the selection panel had  not received the Vigilance clearance of all candidates from the government, which is mandatory.

However, the Vigilance clearance files could also come up at the time of the meeting on Friday. The other members of  the panel headed by the CJ are the chief secretary, chairman, Public Service Commission and chairman of Kerala Administrative Tribunal.

Sources said the selection process involves the panel examining the applications of the candidates in detail along with other documents provided by the government,  including Vigilance clearance and any pending cases or controversies related to the probables.

After going through the applications and other procedures,  the panel will submit a proposal to the state government. It  will then send the proposal to the Governor for approval.

After getting the Governor’s approval the matter will be sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs which would get an IB report and if everything is found perfect the appointment would be made by the President.

The members are also cautious while selecting the candidates as their integrity is also at stake. Sources said there was  an instance in the past when the name short-listed by the panel was objected to by IB following negative reports.