CBI probes disproportionate assets

The High Court has ordered a CBI investigation against the former Chief Secretary, Chief Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister and CEO of KIIFB, K.M. Abraham, on a complaint of amassing assets beyond his income. The law states that government officials should not amass assets beyond their income. Now, if they have amassed assets beyond their income, they must disclose the source of it. A person can accumulate assets beyond his income through the sale of family properties, etc. However, if they hide it, suspicion will arise that the assets beyond the income were acquired through corruption. Government officials should not create an opportunity for such a situation to arise.

Government officials and judges are required to disclose their assets every year. No investigation is usually conducted in this regard. However, if a complaint is received in this regard, the vigilance courts can order an investigation. If the investigation finds assets exceeding the income, the courts have the right to take action against the official and confiscate the assets. Many ways will open up for high-ranking officials to make money through corruption. Those who follow that path will protect their own interests, not the interests of the state. The Prevention of Corruption Act is in place to prevent this from happening.

Justice K Babu has ordered a CBI investigation on a petition filed by public activist Jomon Puthanpurakkal, alleging that K.M. Abraham amassed wealth beyond his means during his tenure as the Additional Chief Secretary. What is important is the evidence coming before the courts, not the official's position. However, the position and political support of officials can influence police and vigilance investigations. The court has ordered the investigation after assessing that the complaint is prima facie valid. The High Court has also quashed the 2017 order of the Thiruvananthapuram Vigilance Court, which rejected the demand for further investigation in the case. The CBI's Kochi unit will be conducting the investigation. Since it is the High Court that has ordered this, no one will get any political opportunity to blame the Centre for this investigation.

The court observed that K.M. Abraham has not been able to explain how he pays EMIs for two buildings in Mumbai and Kerala every month, which are more than his salary. The complainant had presented documents obtained from the Kollam Corporation under the Right to Information Act in the court, proving that the statement given by K.M. Abraham to the Vigilance that he is not the owner of the shopping complex in Kadappakkada, Kollam, but his brother, was false, and that the building was in Abraham's name itself. There is no dispute that K.M. Abraham is a capable officer who has made many contributions to the state of Kerala. The courageous steps he took against big business houses in connection with stock manipulation while he was the head of SEBI are widely recognized. Such an officer should not have created the situation for such a complaint. If he is unable to prove his honesty in the CBI investigation, society will think, "let those who have eaten salt drink water."