THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Lokayukta Justice (Retd) Cyriac Joseph ruled on Friday that State Higher Education Minister R. Bindhu's two letters to Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan demanding the reappointment of Kannur University Vice-Chancellor Gopinath Ravindran do not constitute corruption or misuse of power.

After it was revealed that Bindhu had written two letters to Khan, veteran Congress politician Ramesh Chennithala approached the Kerala Lokayukta to demand her removal.

The Minister can always communicate with the Chancellor (Khan) because she is also the Pro-Chancellor, according to the ruling, and the Chancellor can use his discretion to take it or not.

The Lokayukta did not address the merits of the reappointment matter because it is currently before the Kerala High Court.

Ravindran's reappointment had sparked a hornet's nest in the state's political fabric, with Khan himself coming out in the open and criticising the way the higher education sector was governed.

In April of last year, Bindhu's predecessor, K.T. Jaleel, was forced to resign as State Minister after the Lokayukta determined that he had abused his office by appointing a cousin to a state-run organisation.

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