The Kerala government has officially permitted its Vigilance department to conduct a preliminary inquiry against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar in connection with a bribery matter dating back nearly two decades. State Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala announced that approval had been granted under Section 17(A) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. He said the decision was taken after discussions with Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan and after seeking legal advice.
The controversy dates to around 2006, when Gyanesh Kumar was serving as Secretary of the Kerala Public Works Department (PWD). Payments of bills were severely delayed for the Malaysian consortium PATI-BEL, which had undertaken road works under the Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP). V.O. Sajan, a former sub-contractor from Chadayamangalam in Kollam district, alleged that the PWD Secretary deliberately withheld cheques worth about Rs 17 crore for bills already approved by engineers.
In his complaint to the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB), Sajan alleged that Gyanesh Kumar demanded a bribe of Rs 2 crore to release the cheques. He said Malaysian engineer Lee See Bin told him this personally, and that the company’s refusal to pay led to a severe financial crisis. According to the complaint, Lee, unable to pay workers and contractors and under intense mental stress, died by suicide in 2006.
Vigilance conducted a preliminary inquiry after Lee’s death in 2006, but the case was closed for lack of proper evidence. Sajan has now alleged that a clean chit was given without questioning him, a direct witness at the time, or former employees of the company. The case was reopened after he said Lee’s suicide note mentions Gyanesh Kumar and that he would provide full evidence and details of Lee’s family members for the inquiry.
Although Gyanesh Kumar currently holds the country’s highest election commissioner post, the Home Minister said that, according to Supreme Court rulings, there is no legal bar to investigating his past administrative actions. The old bribery case has surfaced at a time when opposition parties are protesting strongly against the CEC over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists, making it a major talking point nationwide. Gyanesh Kumar has not yet issued any official response to the allegations.