KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday dismissed the petition challenging the order of Kerala Lok Ayukta, which referred a case of alleged nepotism and corruption in the previous LDF government’s decision to grant financial aid from the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) to the families of a deceased politician, to a larger Bench.
The Bench, comprising Chief Justice A J Desai and Justice V G Arun, stated that when a difference of opinion arises between the Lok Ayuktha and Upa Lok Ayuktas, the only option is to decide the issue by three members, and the decision of the majority shall prevail.
The Division Bench found no reason to interfere in the Lok Ayukta’s order, and consequently, the petition was dismissed.
The petitioner, R S Sasikumar, a member of the syndicate of the University of Kerala, sought to quash the Lok Ayukta’s order and declared that the decision of the Lok Ayukta was legally flawed. Sasikumar contended that when he raised his complaint against the Cabinet’s decision, the Lok Ayukta passed an order referring it to a three-member Bench for determining the jurisdiction of the Lok Ayukta to entertain a complaint against the decision taken by the Council of Ministers.
The petitioner argued that the Lok Ayukta had already addressed the question of jurisdiction in 2018 and held the complaint to be maintainable. Therefore, the order referring the matter to a three-member Bench was unsustainable.