THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Coming down heavily on the Government, the Vigilance Court here asked why officials like additional chief secretary Tom Jose, who is alleged to have amassed wealth illegally, are allowed to continue in office.
The court also asked why such officials were being protected when reports against them have emerged. It made the observation while hearing a petition against Chief Secretary S M Vijayanand, who is alleged to have scuttled all inquiry reports against top officials.
Even after the Vigilance and Anti Corruption Bureau (VACB) recommending the government to take action against Tom Jose, the Chief Secretary had assured that no action was taken. The Vigilance Judge also asked who had authorised the Chief Secretary to take such a decision despite the reports.
Earlier this week,the court had directed the VACB to submit the files related to Tom Jose and former DGP T P Senkumar in the case. VACB also submitted ten letters that had been sent to the Home Secretary, who had forwarded it to the chief secretary to take action against Tom Jose.
The allegations against Tom Jose centre around his questionable purchase of 50 acres of farmland in Maharashtra and procurement of magnesium for Kerala Metals and Metals Limited during the tenure of the previous Government.
According to the petitioner, the Chief Secretary, who was to advise the government on important issues, allegedly suppressed many of the reports of the Vigilance Director, Home secretary and even ministers. Despite taking steps against the persons who were mentioned in the various reports, the Chief Secretary had only tried to scuttle the reports in the last seven months.