The Kerala High Court has issued notice on a plea seeking CBI probe into the alleged incident involving Thiruvananthapuram Mayor Arya Rajendran S and D.R. Anil, LDF Parliamentary Party Secretary allegedly requesting the CPI(M) District Secretary to provide the list of party members for appointment to various posts in the Health Division of the Municipal Corporation.

The Bench of Justice K. Babu issued notice before admission to the Mayor and the Parliamentary Party Secretary while asking the Director General of Prosecution, Senior Advocate T. A. Shaji whether an FIR has been registered in relation to the incident.

In the plea filed by G. S Sreekumar, Ex-Councillor of Medical College Ward in Thiruvananthapuram, it has been stated that he came across the information from the media that the Mayor and the Parliamentary Party Secretary who belong to the ruling party, had requested the CPI(M) Party District Secretary to provide the list of party members for appointment to various posts in the Health Division of the Municipal Corporation.

The plea filed through Advocates Rajkumar K R and Jagadeesh Lakshman states that the act of Nepotism of the Mayor of Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation and one of the councillors is against the Oath taken by both of them at the time of swearing in as Councillors in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation. The plea also states that corruption has been institutionalised after the present dispensation has come into existence.

The petitioner has further stated that though a complaint has been filed before the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau however the petitioner apprehends that there will be high and mighty entities to help hush up the matter.

The petitioner further alleges that for the last two years more than a thousand appointments were made in this fashion by the Corporation and a detailed investigation in this matter is highly necessary. "It is imminent that an inquiry into this matter needs to be initiated by an impartial authority who will not be fettered with the political high and mighty of Kerala State", the plea says.

It has been stated that the actions of the Mayor and the Party Secretary can be categorised as subverting the employment chances of thousands who are qualified to do the jobs if advertised in the open market.

"The procedure adopted by the respondents is to favour the party members or the persons who are to be made the potential party workers. They are creating a cadre for their party inside the Corporation Office by systematically employing the persons who are affiliated with the CPI(M) only.", the plea alleged.

The petitioner also stated that even though police have started the investigation of the complaint now received at the office of the Chief Minister, the real culprits who are behind this fiasco have to be brought to light and they should be booked for playing with the lives of thousands of unemployed youths in the State.

The petitioner has prayed to direct the State Government to hand over the investigation to the CBI forthwith for an impartial investigation. In the alternative, the petitioner has prayed for a judicial inquiry into the matter by a sitting judge, not below the rank of the Subordinate Judge.

Cause Title- G. S. Sreekumar v. State of Kerala and Others

Kerala High CourtCBICPI(M)

Ashish Shaji