Devaswom special pleader K B Pradeep resigns after appointment sparked controversy

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Advocate K B Pradeep, appointed as the special government pleader for the devaswom boards in the high court, has resigned. The chief minister had directed him to resign immediately. The action was taken after his appointment sparked a controversy. It was Pradeep who appeared for Smart Creations, accused in the Sabarimala gold theft case, in the high court.

The SIT had expressed concern over the appointment of Pradeep as the government pleader. The officials raised concerns that details of the investigation would be leaked. The SIT had also approached the Sabarimala Special Commissioner in this regard. The chief minister's intervention came when the special commissioner was all set to inform the high court about this.

Pradeep mainly appeared in cases related to devaswoms in the high court. Pleaders are assigned responsibilities based on their previous experience. In the initial phase of the gold theft case, it was K B Pradeep who spoke to the media on behalf of Pankaj Bhandari and Smart Creations. Pankaj Bhandari, the owner and CEO of Smart Creations, who plated the Dwarapalaka idols with gold in 2019, is the ninth accused in the case. The special investigation team had found that the gold was extracted at Smart Creations.

When the media asked whether it was right to make the lawyer who had argued for the accused the government lawyer, Devaswom Minister K Muraleedharan responded that it was a good thing that someone who knew the weaknesses of the accused became the government lawyer. The minister said that he was not present in the last cabinet meeting and that the discretion to appoint a government lawyer had been left to the chief minister. The accused in the gold theft case will not escape. The minister cannot dismiss the decision taken by the cabinet. He said that it is the collective responsibility of the cabinet.

Till now, the devaswom department had only the post of senior government pleader. P K Sajeevan and P K Shanthamma have also been appointed as special government pleaders. The new appointment was made after terminating 18 senior government pleaders and 20 government pleaders appointed by the previous government. In addition to the three special government pleaders, 17 senior government pleaders and 19 government pleaders have been appointed. The tenure of the special pleaders is three years.