The CPI-M led Pinarayi Vijayan government on Wednesday strongly defended vigilance chief Jacob Thomas against the CBI in the Kerala high court.

Thomas, who was made the vigilance chief the day Vijayan assumed office on May 25, has come under fire from the Congress-led opposition during the ongoing assembly session.

Just as Vijayan defended Thomas in the assembly on Wednesday, the state government counsel questioned the Central Bureau of Investigation for wanting to probe Thomas for the time when he taught at an engineering college in 2009 after applying for leave when he headed a state government enterprise.

The CBI counsel said on Tuesday Jacob would be probed on a public interest petition filed by an activist against Thomas, who holds the rank of director general of police.

On Wednesday, the state government counsel questioned the propriety of the CBI as the affidavit submitted in the court was signed by the counsel and not by a CBI officer.

Thomas, after applying for leave took up the job of a teacher and quit four months later returning the salary he received as a teacher.

The state government counsel informed the court that this was nothing more than a service issue and it was mysterious why the CBI was showing so much interest in the case.

The High Court has now posted this case for November 3 and Advocate General C.P. Sudhakara Prasad will appear to defend Thomas.

The CBI counsel also raised the rationale behind Thomas writing to the CBI director pointing out procedural lapses on the part of CBI in the case.

Thomas is currently pursuing a good number of cases in which Cabinet Ministers in the previous Oommen Chandy government are also involved.