Kochi: In a major setback to the LDF government in Kerala, a special court on Thursday observed that the Chief Minister has no legal standing to interfere in anti-corruption inquiries, the Hindu reported.
The Inquiry Commissioner and Special Judge, Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB), Thiruvananthapuram, slammed the VACB for giving a clean chit to Additional Director General of Police, Law and Order, M R Ajith Kumar, in illegal wealth amassment case with the approval of Chief Minister.
The judge observed that the VACB’s testimony contravened the basic principles of jurisprudence.
The court questioned the role of the so-called Constitutional dignitaries in the inquiry initiated against the high-ranking police officer.
Nobody has the right to interfere in the inquiry, whether at the initial stage or the conclusion,” the court observed.
The court noted pointedly that the complainant, P Nagaraj, a lawyer and public interest litigant, had testified in court that persons holding high political office and top bureaucrats had conspired to derail the anti-corruption probe.
Notably, Mr. Nagaraj had named Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s political secretary, P Sasi, as one of the respondents in his petition.
The court said that the section 223 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, empowered the court to examine the complainant and the respondents under oath to hear their case before “taking cognisance of the anti-corruption charge”. The court observed that it had enough proof on record to conduct such an investigation.
Setback to LDF govt
