The Kerala High Court on Friday quashed the Thiruvananthapuram Vigilance Special Court’s order directing an inquiry against Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) M R Ajith Kumar in a disproportionate assets case, holding that the lower court’s direction suffered from procedural defects.
However, the High Court refused to quash the complaint itself and allowed the proceedings to continue in accordance with law.
A Vigilance Court had earlier rejected the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau’s (VACB) preliminary inquiry report that exonerated ADGP Ajith Kumar and instead ordered a further probe into allegations of disproportionate assets. The complaint was filed by lawyer Neyyattinkara P Nagaraj and former Nilambur MLA P V Anwar.
Challenging that order, Kumar approached the High Court, seeking to set aside the directive for further investigation and to quash the complaint altogether.
The bench of Justice A Badharudeen held that the Vigilance Court erred in directing the probe without ensuring mandatory statutory compliance under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The High Court emphasised that prior sanction from the state government under Section 19(1) of the PC Act, 2018, is a prerequisite before initiating criminal proceedings against a public servant in corruption matters.
The bench further expunged all observations made by the Vigilance Court against the Kerala Chief Minister in connection with the direction to investigate Kumar.
While the High Court set aside the Vigilance Court’s directive for an immediate probe, it dismissed Kumar’s plea to quash the complaint, keeping the allegations alive.
The Court clarified that the complaint can proceed after statutory permission is obtained:
- The complainant is free to apply to the competent authority for sanction.
- Upon securing sanction, it may be produced before the Vigilance Court for further action.
The case now hinges on whether the complainant succeeds in obtaining government sanction under Section 19(1) of the PC Act. Until then, no investigative proceedings can move forward against the senior IPS officer.
