KOCHI: The Supreme Court has dismissed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) challenging the appointment of Anila Varghese, wife of former Minister of Food and Civil Supplies Anoop Jacob as an Assistant Director at the Kerala Bhasha Institute.
The bench comprising Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice Satish Chandra Sarma issued the order on the petition filed by S Manimekhala, of Thiruvananthapuram challenging the High Court order upholding the appointment of Anila Varghese.
The court noted that no cognizable offence is made out as there was no forgery and there was no financial loss caused to the government by the appointment of Anila. Moreover, the appointment was made on a deputation basis. These findings of the Vigilance Special Judge and High Court are found to be in order, said the Supreme Court judgment pronounced on September 3.
Anoop Jacob MLA said, the challenging of the appointment was a politically motivated one and we are happy with the Supreme Court order which upheld the appointment. "Moreover, the main allegation was that the appointment, which was on deputation, caused loss to the state exchequer, but the Supreme Court ruled out that", he added.
The complainant alleged that the appointment of Anila Varghese to the post of Assistant Director in the Kerala Bhasha Institute, as "illegal and unconstitutional," and it was carried out in blatant violation of Article 14, 15, and 16 of the Constitution of India, along with pertinent service rules and employment laws.
The complainant had moved the High Court challenging the order of the Enquiry Commissioner and Special Judge, Thiruvananthapuram, who had upheld the appointment. However, the High Court dismissed the petition and held that there were no sufficient materials in the complaint to initiate the prosecution against Anila Varghese and others.