Thavanur MLA and former higher education and minority welfare minister K T Jaleel suffered a setback on Friday with the Supreme Court declining to entertain the appeal filed by him against the lokayukta finding that he had engaged in nepotism in the appointment of his relative as general manager in the Kerala state minorities development finance corporation.
The Supreme Court bench comprising Justices L Nageswara Rao and B R Gavai dismissed as withdrawn the petition of Jaleel challenging the decision of the lokayukta and the subsequent verdict of the Kerala High Court. The Supreme Court, while declining to entertain the petition, observed that it was a clear case of a relative being favoured. Senior counsel Gopal Sankaranarayanan representing Jaleel had said that his client was not heard before the findings were made about him by the lokayukta.
He added that the complaint was filed at the instance of IUML after K T Abeeb, who was appointed as general manager, initiated proceedings against party members for recovery of arrears from NPA accounts. “We could have considered if it was a case of vague or ambiguous allegations. But it is a clear case of a relative being favoured…,” Justice L Nageswara Rao told the counsel. Following this the counsel sought permission to withdraw the petition. Jaleel had resigned from the post of minister in the first Pinrarayi Vijayan government on April 13 following the lokayukta order.
Responding to the SC order, Jaleel said that it was not a setback for him as the SC had declined to hear the case as the lokayukta order has already been complied with following his resignation. He said in a Facebook post that he has something to tell about the chronology of the lokayukta order, which he will tell in detail later.
