THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The proposed amendment to the Kerala Lok Ayukta Act to curtail the powers of the anti-corruption ombudsman, approved by the state cabinet last week, has the blessings of the CPM leadership though it was not discussed in the LDF. With the party state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and Law Minister P Rajeeve coming out in support of the ordinance proposed to amend the act, it has become clear the government is in no mood to backtrack.
The move was initiated in April last year, after an adverse verdict from Lok Ayukta forced K T Jaleel to resign from the first Pinarayi Vijayan cabinet. The draft ordinance is now under the consideration of the governor. The timing of the issuance of the ordinance has prompted the Opposition UDF to request the governor not to sign it in a hurry.
The LDF government is facing two crucial cases in Lok Ayukta which are scheduled before the division bench early next month. One is regarding the allegation of nepotism related to the diversion of funds from the CM’s distress relief fund to the families of two political leaders who had died, in which Pinarayi is under scrutiny.
The second one was filed by Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala regarding an out-of-the-way recommendation by Higher Education Minister R Bindu to Governor Arif Mohammed Khan to reappoint Gopinath Ravindran as the vice-chancellor of Kannur University. The government also foresees a case regarding large-scale purchase of medicines and medical equipment at inflated prices during the first wave of Covid coming before Lok Ayukta soon.
Advocate general suggested amendments: CPM
AS PER the existing Kerala Lok Ayukta Act approved in 1999 when CPM leader E K Nayanar was the chief minister, if Lok Ayukta finds a public servant unfit to hold the office owing to acts of corruption or nepotism, it can order him to quit the office.
It was using this provision under Section 14 of the act that Lok Ayukta had found Jaleel’s appointment of his close relative to a plum government job as an act of nepotism. Though Jaleel approached the High Court and Supreme Court, his appeals were dismissed. When the act was conceived, retired High Court chief justice was designated as Lok Ayukta and retired High Court judges as two Upa Lok Ayuktas with a clear intention that the body should have a more active role than an advisory commission.
Rajeeve said the amendment brought to the act was based on a recommendation by the previous advocate general. “All laws should abide by natural justice and provisions of the Constitution. The law in Kerala is in variance with similar legislations in other states. The High Court verdicts in 2017 and 2020 had suggested that Lok Ayukta Act should be amended as per the Lokpal Bill,” said Rajeeve. Incidentally, former AG C P Sudhakara Prasad recommended the dilution of Lok Ayukta Act on April 13, 2021, the day when Jaleel submitted his resignation.
Justifying the decision, CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said, “If Lok Ayukta decides so; it can abolish an entire government. Currently there is no appeal provision against the Lok Ayukta verdict. The AG pointed out a Constitutional issue in this regard and suggested amendments.”
“Neither in Congress-ruled Punjab nor in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Lok Ayukta has the power to oust those in power. That is why AG suggested amendments to the act. Lok Ayuktas in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar and Rajasthan also don’t have that power,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
The cabinet meeting held on January 19 and attended by Pinarayi online from the US, where he has been undergoing treatment, decided to amend clause 14 in such a way that a hearing on Lok Ayukta’s verdict needs to be organised by a ‘competent authority’ within three months and a final decision will be taken in the hearing. If it is a verdict against a minister, the chief minister should convene the hearing and if it is a verdict against the CM, the governor should convene hearing. In effect, the judgments of Lok Ayukta will only be of recommendatory nature if the ordinance comes into force.
Govt aims to make body toothless: Ex-member
Former Upa Lok Ayukta Justice K P Balachandran told TNIE that the LDF government’s aim is to ensure that the anti-corruption body becomes toothless. “Following Jaleel’s case, the LDF government found the Lok Ayukta an inconvenient body. Once the amendment comes into effect, the anti-corruption body will have powers similar to Ombuds-man where minor officials can be booked. The very relevance of the Lok Ayukta itself is feared to be lost. It is better on their part to disband it.”