A Kerala case, two decades later: Gyanesh Kumar faces renewed questions

As CEC Gyanesh Kumar faces protests over electoral roll revisions, a 20-year-old Kerala corruption case resurfaces despite an earlier vigilance clean chit

Gyanesh Kumar, 62-year-old Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), is facing mounting political pressure in Delhi, where Opposition parties, protesters from the Cockroach Janata Party and several other groups are demanding his resignation over controversies surrounding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, including voter deletions and changes involving Form 6. 

At the same time, a two-decade-old corruption allegation from his tenure in Kerala has resurfaced. Earlier this month, state Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala ordered a Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) investigation into alleged irregularities in the Public Works Department (PWD), when Kumar was its secretary as a Kerala-cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer.

 Separately, former Kerala chief secretary Jiji Thomson told local media that Kumar had approached him in 2019 to ask whether he would consider contesting that year’s Lok Sabha election as a BJP candidate from Pathanamthitta.

 What is the vigilance case about? 

The case dates to 2006, when Malaysian civil engineer Lee See Been, chief project manager of the PATI-BEL consortium, died by suicide. The joint venture between Malaysian company PATI and Kerala-based Bhageeratha Engineering was responsible for upgrading a major section of Phase I of the World Bank-assisted Kerala State Transport Project’s road programme. 

In late September, Thomas Isaac, veteran Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader, alleged that Kumar was removed as PWD secretary after ordering a vigilance inquiry in 2006. Isaac told Business Standard that Kumar’s name had reportedly surfaced in connection with Been’s death, amid allegations of harassment, demands for bribes and delays in clearing bills. 

Isaac, who served as finance minister in the V S Achuthanandan government from 2006 to 2011, said outstanding bills amounted to just ~13 crore. “There were bigger allegations that work was not completed, and Kumar used to blame the contractor. At the same time, he was not issuing any liquidated damages claim on the company,” Isaac said. 

However, a former government official told Business Standard that reports claiming Kumar’s name appeared in the suicide note were incorrect. Veteran journalist and author M G Radhakrishnan, who covered the case in 2006, said the episode was seen primarily as a reflection of alleged malpractices in the PWD, including corruption and delays in clearing bills. Kumar’s name, he said, was not specifically highlighted. 

“I never came across a suicide note that mentioned the current CEC’s name,” Radhakrishnan said, adding that allegations could nevertheless be investigated. 

An earlier clean chit 

Born in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, Kumar studied civil engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur before joining the IAS in 1988 as a Kerala-cadre officer. 

The vigilance department investigated the allegations in 2006-07 and cleared him, according to media reports. The fresh complaint has raised questions about whether new evidence exists to justify reopening the case. The department, according to certain media report, is reluctant to revisit its findings without fresh evidence. 

Two other preliminary inquiries involving Kumar during the period — one concerning alleged overpayment to a contractor and another relating to bridge construction — also reportedly found no proof of wrongdoing. 

If vigilance declines to pursue the matter, the state government could consider a Crime Branch investigation or a special task force probe into Been’s death. 

Former bureaucrats have questioned the need to revive allegations examined nearly two decades ago. “I have found him to be a competent, objective and systematic official. Coming up with a controversy after 20 years does not make any sense,” said E K Bharat Bhushan, former Kerala chief secretary and director general of civil aviation. 

An efficient officer with political run-ins 

Kumar’s record in Kerala has drawn both praise and criticism. K V Thomas, former Union minister and a long-time Parliament member from Ernakulam, described him as efficient but said he had faced “some corruption charges” early in his career.

“He was always loyal to the ruling parties. I found him to be an efficient official, as we interacted closely when he was posted as the collector in Ernakulam,” Thomas told Business Standard. 

As Ernakulam collector, Kumar was associated with the beautification of the riverfront and Marine Drive and played a key role in the Goshree Bridges project, connecting Vypin and other islands to the mainland. 

During the 2003 Ernakulam Lok Sabha byelection, live counting trends began to be shared with the media under his leadership, an early example of using technology to speed up election administration. 

Kumar also had public confrontations with politicians. In 2004, local media reported an altercation between him and then legislator T H Musthafa at a meeting on the drought situation. Musthafa accused the collector of favouring the “sand mafia” and later served a privilege notice against him, alleging improper conduct. 

Senior journalist Sunnykutty Abraham said Kumar otherwise maintained a low profile and held relatively less prominent portfolios during his Kerala-cadre years. 

At the Centre, Kumar was closely associated with drafting the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act and helped establish the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra, the trust overseeing the construction and management of the Ram Mandir. He retired from the civil services in January 2024. 

Under scrutiny as CEC 

Kumar’s appointment as Chief Election Commissioner in February 2025 was contentious, with Opposition parties objecting to the removal of the Chief Justice of India from the selection panel. 

The current protests in Delhi centre on allegations that the SIR has led to more than 130 million people being removed from voter lists. The exercise, alongside changes involving Form 6, has intensified scrutiny of the Election Commission and its leadership. 

The resurfacing of the Kerala allegations adds to the pressure on Kumar, although the earlier vigilance inquiry cleared him and the latest allegations have yet to establish fresh wrongdoing. 

Isaac argues that the CEC must meet a high standard of integrity and that questions about an incumbent’s conduct warrant scrutiny of his record.