NCP leader AK Saseendran, who had to quit as Kerala Transport Minister in 2017 over a sleaze charge, will be sworn in as a minister on Thursday.
The NCP leader had to resign in March 2017 after a sleaze chat of his with a woman journalist had surfaced. Last week, a court cleared Saseendran of the charge.
Kerala Governor P Sathasivam will administer the oath of office to Saseendran in the Raj Bhavan.
On Wednesday, one Maha Lekshmi filed a fresh petition in the Kerala High Court questioning the way the case was disposed of, by the lower court.
Lekshmi had earlier also approached the lower court requesting that Saseendran should not be cleared. But her plea was dismissed.
Saseendran is expected to get back the Transport portfolio, which has been with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan since March.
The court on Saturday, gave a clean chit to Saseendran after the woman journalist backtracked on her statements.
In March 2017, Saseendran resigned over an audio clip in which he was heard having a lewd conversation with the journalist.
Last week, the journalist told the court that Saseendran never misbehaved with her. She was also not sure whether it was the former Minister who had spoken to her over the phone.
The Congress-led-opposition has cried foul over the probe and has questioned the morality behind the re-induction of Saseendran.
Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala said that by giving the ministerial position to Saseendran once again, the real face of the LDF, which often takes the moral high ground on issues, has been exposed.
“His acquittal by court doesn’t mean that what was wrong is not wrong. Everyone had heard the voice of Saseendran in the audio clip. He hadn’t denied that it was his voice. His sudden resignation was caused by guilt,” Chennithala said in a statement.
(With IANS inputs)