In the nepotism row, Kerala MLA and former minister KT Jaleel approached the Supreme Court requesting to stay the Lokayukta report against him. On April 9, 2021, the Kerala Lokayukta stated that Higher Education Minister KT Jaleel was guilty of nepotism and that he had ‘misused’ powers to appoint a family member in Kerala State Minorities Development Finance Corporation. In 2018, Jaleel appointed his close relative KT Adeeb as General Manager of the KSMDFC, under the Ministry of Minority Welfare in Kerala. The Lokayukta also declared that he should continue not as minister following which he resigned on April 13.
On August 3, the MLA approached the apex court seeking redressal from both the Lokayukta and the subsequent High Court verdict which upheld the former's observations. In the petition Jaleel argued that he was denied justice and his version was not heard by Lokayukta. The complaint against Jaleel was raised by the Muslim Youth League, the youth wing of the Indian Union Muslim League which is the second biggest ally of the Congress-led UDF. PK Mohammed Shafi, a resident of Jaleel's home district Malappuram had approached the Lokayukta and his counsel George Poonthotem said the verdict is very clear and the Lokayukta has said he has no moral right to continue as a minister.
The move triggered huge protests inside and outside the Assembly even though Jaleel defended himself saying that the appointment was in order. Jaleel also got the support of the CPI(M), but later the same year in 2018, Adeeb quit the post and returned to his bank job.
On April 20, Kerala High Court dismissed the writ petition filed by Jaleel, challenging a report of the Lokayukta. Following which he approached SC.
In the 2006 Assembly Elections, Jaleer had trounced the second topmost politician in the Congress led UDF - P.K. Kunhalikutty, a former minister and since then Jaleel, though not a CPI-M card holder has become the blue eyed boy of Pinarayi Vijayan, who in 2016 appointed him as a cabinet minister.