Kerala opposes plea to ouster VACB director Jacob Thomas

Kochi: The state has submitted  before the Kerala High Court that the Prevention of Corruption Act cannot be invoked in the probe against VACB director  Jacob Thomas for taking up a teaching job while he was on leave. The government made the submission on a plea seeking a CBI probe into the matter. The state contended that the plea seeking Mr  Thomas's ouster will not legally stand.   The state had already taken departmental action against him for teaching in a college. Mr  Thomas had repaid the amount  received from the teaching.

The petition is a service matter  and not a public interest litigation, the state said and sought to reject the petition. Thrissur native Binoy had moved the court against  Mr  Thomas. Mr Thomas had taught at an engineering college in 2009 after applying for leave when he headed a state government enterprise. Earlier the CBII had said that  it was   ready to probe the case. After applying for leave, he had taken up the job of a teacher and quit four months later returning the salary he received as a teacher. The state government counsel informed the court that this was nothing more than a service issue and that it was mysterious why the CBI was showing so much interest in the case.