Jayathilak, set to become Kerala chief secretary, faces probe over alleged funds misappropriation
Thiruvananthapuram: Just days before his scheduled appointment as Kerala's new Chief Secretary, A. Jayathilak, the state's Additional Chief Secretary (Finance), is facing a probe over allegations of misappropriation of central funds.
Jayathilak is set to take over the position from Sarada Muraleedharan, a 1990-batch officer, who will retire on April 30.
The complaint, which was filed by Kollam native J. Bency, accuses Jayathilak, a 1991 Kerala cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, and his colleague K. Gopalakrishnan of mishandling funds allocated under the Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana (PM-AJAY), a scheme aimed at uplifting scheduled caste communities. The complaint alleges that the officers diverted funds and issued suspicious contracts.
One of the central allegations includes the granting of a contract to a firm lacking IATA accreditation to train Scheduled Caste youth in aviation-related jobs.
The complaint received by the CWC was forwarded to the state government as it did not fall under the jurisdiction of the former.
Sarada Muraleedharan, the outgoing Chief Secretary, has reportedly stated that she would look into the allegations.
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Plea on stray dogs mentioned in SC, CJI says he 'will look into it'
New Delhi (PTI): "I will look into it," Chief Justice of India B R Gavai assured on Wednesday when a plea relating to stray dogs was mentioned for urgent hearing in the Supreme Court.
The plea by the Conference for Human Rights (India) was mentioned before a bench of the chief justice and Justice K Vinod Chandran by a lawyer.
Another bench has already passed an order in relation to stray dogs, the CJI pointed out.
On August 11, a bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan observed that instances of dog bites had given rise to an "extremely grim" situation and ordered the permanent relocation of all strays in Delhi-NCR "at the earliest".
On Wednesday, the lawyer referred to a May 2024 order passed by a bench led by Justice J K Maheshwari relegating petitions relating to the stray dog issue to respective high courts.
The CJI then assured that he will look into it.
The plea by Conference for Human Rights (India) claims the Animal Birth Control (Dog) Rules, 2001 mandating regular sterilisation and immunisation programmes for stray dogs to curtail their growing population are not being complied with.
In its August 11 ruling, the apex court also said dog shelters will have to be augmented over time and directed Delhi authorities to start with creating shelters of around 5,000 canines within six to eight weeks.
Besides, the bench warned of strict action against an individual or organisation in case of any kind of obstruction in the relocation drive that might also prompt the court to initiate contempt proceedings.
