Thiruvananthapuram: The Lokayukta on Monday rejected a petition against Kerala Chief Minister Mr Pinarayi Vijayan and 18 former ministers in connection with the alleged misuse of the Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund (CMDRF).
The verdict was given here on Monday by a three-member bench comprising Lokayukta Justice Cyriac Joseph, Upa Lokayuktas Justic Haroon Al Rashid and Justice Babu Mathew P.
The court while passing the verdict said; “There is no evidence to prove that the CMDRF funds were misused. The chief minister has the right to grant a maximum of Rs 3 lakh from the relief fund. There is no proof that the grant was politically motivated,” the court said.
The complaint was filed by an activist and former Kerala University syndicate member R S Sasikumar who alleged favouritism in the decision to provide financial assistance from CMDRF.
The court also rejected an interim petition filed by the petitioner who pointed out that the two Upa Lokayuktas had released the biography of late MLA Ramachandran Nair, involved in the complaint and therefore they should recuse themselves from the case.
The petitioner while reacting to the verdict, said it was on expected lines. He alleged that the Lokayukta was influenced by the government and he would take up the legal battle with the apex court.
In his petition, Sasikumar had alleged favouritism in the decision to provide financial assistance to the families of late NCP leader Uzhavor Vijayan, former Chengannur MLA late K K Ramachandran Nair and a police personal P Praveen who died in a road mishap while escorting former CPM state secretary late Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.
The complainant accused the chief minister of taking a unilateral decision to provide financial assistance from the CMDRF to the families of the three deceased persons.
Sasikumar also alleged that the matter about the financial assistance was not included in the agenda of the Cabinet meeting. The chief minister, 18 ministers (previous LDF government 2016-2021) and the chief secretary were arraigned as accused in the case.
The complainant demanded the sacking of the chief minister and the ministers concerned for the grave violation.
The hearing in the case was held from February 5, 2022, to March 18, 2022. As per norms, the verdict should have been given within 30 days of the completion of the hearing. It could be extended by another 15 days in the event of any extraordinary situation.
But in this case, the verdict was indefinitely delayed following which the complainant Sasikumar had to approach the high court. The high court directed him to approach the Lokayukta.
Three instances of alleged misuse of the chief minister's distress relief fund were cited in the case;
An amount of Rs 25 lakh paid for the education of the children of NCP leader late Uzhavoor Vijayan.
The appointment of the son of former Chengannur MLA late Ramachandran Nair as assistant engineer and paying Rs 8.5 lakh for redeeming his wife's pledged gold and to settle his car loan.
Rs 20 lakh paid to the wife of a civil police officer P Praveen who died when the pilot vehicle of CPM leader late Kodiyeri Balakrishnan met with an accident.
