Kerala HC refuses interim stay on Lokayukta's report against KT Jaleel; reserves order

On Tuesday, a division bench of the Kerala High Court refused to stay the Lokayukta report which led to the resignation of Higher Education Minister KT Jaleel. A bench comprising Justices PB Suresh Kumar and K Babu reserved order on a petition filed by the Thavanur MLA challenging the legality of the Lokayukta report. The report had charged him with "nepotism, abuse of power and favouritism" in giving a government appointment to his second cousin by altering norms.

As per the complaint filed by a Muslim League youth leader Muhammad Shafi in 2018, Jaleel's cousin Adeeb was appointed as the general manager in the Kerala State Minorities Development Finance Corporation by flouting rules. As per sources, the Kerala Higher Education Minister's resignation letter sent to CM Pinarayi Vijayan has been forwarded to the Governor. During the hearing, senior advocate George Poonthottam, advocate KV Sohan and advocate PC Sasidharan represented the complainant, the state government and Jaleel respectively. 

Details of hearing

In his plea, Jaleel asserted that the final report submitted by the Lokayukta comprising former Supreme Court judge Cyriac Joseph and ex-HC judge Harun-ul-Rashid is violative of natural justice and merits the court's intervention. Sasidharan argued that the Lokayukta did not have the power to consider the matter as the same relates to appointment. Maintaining that the Lokayukta's report was issued without following the procedures stipulated under the Kerala Lokayukta Act, he added that no investigation as contemplated under this Act was conducted.

The state government's counsel also made similar arguments during the hearing. On the other hand, Shafi's lawyer highlighted that there is no specific procedure under the Act for conducting a probe. He stressed that the Lokayukta had proceeded with complete satisfaction that the complaint needs to be acted upon and dubbed the report as "comprehensive".

Moreover, Poonthottam informed the HC that the report was issued after perusing all the documents related to the issue. At this juncture, the bench asked Jaleel's counsel whether the Minister was still in office, to which he responded in the negative. It is pertinent to note that Jaleel contested as a candidate of the Left Front in the recently concluded Kerala Assembly polls. His electoral fate will be revealed on May 2.