The vigilance search on additional chief secretary (finance) K.M.Abraham's residence has triggered an unwarranted controversy in Kerala.
This has actually pitted a section of the IAS officers as well as IPS officers against Vigilance director Jacob Thomas.
The IAS officers have made known their displeasure to the government through chief secretary S.M.Vijayanand. The question here is not about the propriety of a vigilance raid or search or whatever it is called in official parlance.
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The issue is that IAS and IPS officials are considering themselves as holy cows, who should be spared of any investigation by agencies run by the government.
This is unacceptable in a democratic polity, no matter how much impeccable credentials the officers being subject to investigation can flaunt.
There are some norms which they have to stick to. Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan himself had said in the assembly sarcastically that some government officials may have contracted what he termed as “publicity mania”.
As the CM pointed out there are strict procedures to be followed by top officials. To reinforce this the government had reissued a circular in 2012, but this seems to have had no impact.
Of course, our political masters cannot also skulk from the responsibility of encouraging such behavior from bureaucrats, albeit for their own vested interests. The law should take its own course regardless of the stature of those involved.
There can be no compromise on that count.
