Did E P Jayarajan gain, asks Kerala High Court

Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Friday directed the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) to inform if the accused persons including former industries minister E.P. Jayarajan in the nepotism case had made any gain, in view of the cancellation of the order of appointment made by the minister, even before registration of the FIR.   Interestingly, the government submitted before the court that no offence was made out against the accused. “Nobody now stands to gain from the appointment under challenge,” prosecution informed. To which the court asked then why an FIR was registered in the case.

VACB had earlier submitted that the petitioner (P.K. Sudheer) had derived undue benefits by abusing the position of E.P. Jayarajan. Mr Sudheer moved the court challenging the case registered in connection with his appointment as MD of KSIE and observed that it was high time some guidelines were issued for the functioning of the VACB , touching the nature, scope and extent of their power and functions under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The court also directed the Investigation Officer in the case V. Shyam Kumar, DySP, VACB, Thiruvananthapuram, to explain how he happened to file a statement contrary to the view of the prosecutor in charge of the case. The court observed that the statement did not answer the very material question like whether the petitioner or any other accused had obtained any gain under the law, especially in view of the cancellation of the order of the appointment. The court also directed the Investigation Officer to furnish the rules and procedure governing the appointment of the Managing Director of KSIE limited.