THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Lok Ayukta on Friday found Minister of Higher Education and Minority Affairs KT Jaleel guilty of nepotism and abuse of power in the appointment of his second cousin K T Adeeb as general manager of Kerala State Minorities Development Finance Corporation Limited.Lok Ayukta also observed that Jaleel cannot continue in his post and recommended the chief minister to take appropriate action against the minister.
Lok Ayukta Cyriac Joseph and Upa Lok Ayukta Harun-Ul-Rasheed ruled that the minister violated the oath of office and showed favouritism by tweaking the qualifications to favour his relative.Following the Lok Ayukta revelations, the Opposition demanded Jaleel’s ouster. “If an iota of morality is left in the chief minister, he should expel Jaleel from the cabinet or seek his resignation in the wake of the Lok Ayukta order,” said Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala.
Reacting to the developments, Jaleel stated he would take necessary legal measures after getting the full order of the Lok Ayukta. “The Lok Ayukta has now passed a verdict in a case that was dismissed by the High Court and former Kerala Governor P Sathasivam, who is a former Chief Justice of India,” he said in a Facebook post.
Union Minister V Muraleedharan also demanded the ouster of Jaleel. “The government should expel the minister who has violated his oath of office,” he said.The allegation against Jaleel was first raised by Muslim Youth League in 2018 and it created a furore in the state, with the Opposition parties taking to the streets demanding his ouster. However, the minister and the LDF had maintained that there was no merit in the allegation and that it was politically motivated. However, following the controversy, Adeeb resigned from the post, saying the allegations “hurt his dignity”.
In February 2019, the Lok Ayukta initiated a probe into the charges based on a complaint filed by V K Muhammed Shafi, a native of Edappal.In its order, the Lok Ayukta said: “The action taken by him (Jaleel) to change the qualifications for the post of general manager in the corporation to add “BTech with PGDBA” also as a qualification for the post of general manager was to make his second cousin eligible for the post,” said the order. The order said the change in qualification was brought about without the recommendation of the corporation and, without it, Adeeb could not have become eligible to apply for the post.
‘Abuse of power’
“It amounted to abuse of position by Jaleel as a public servant to obtain a favour to his near relative,” the order said. The Lok Ayukta also found Adeeb’s appointment was made without inviting applications or providing opportunity to other eligible candidates.
Nov 3, 2018
Muslim Youth League raises nepotism charges against minister K T Jaleel over appointment of his relative
K T Adeeb as general manager of KSMDFC.
Nov 13, 2018
KSMDFC accepts resignation of K T Adeeb
February 2019
Lok Ayukta, on the basis of a complaint filed by a public interest litigant, initiates probe. It seeks documents from the government regarding the appointment.
July 2019
Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau informs High Court that allegation was political in nature.
April 9, 2021
Lok Ayukta finds Jaleel guilty of nepotism and abuse of power