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Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan is facing sharp criticism over propriety, transparency, and potential conflict of interest after using a private aircraft, sponsored by a friend, for official travel.
While Satheesan defended the September 21 flight from Thiruvananthapuram to Kozhikode as an urgent response to a deadly landslide in Malappuram, his insistence that he sees no issue with accepting private hospitality for government duties has raised concerns about the ethical boundaries of those holding high public office.
“I have not taken a single rupee for my trip. I had to reach Malappuram on September 21 after attending a programme in Sivagiri, following the landslide in which six people died. Otherwise, you would have reported that the Chief Minister did not visit even after six people had died,” Satheesan said.
Satheesan said he did not see anything wrong with accepting privately arranged travel for official work and doubled down saying he would do so again.
“When I was trying to travel, an acquaintance arranged an aircraft. What is wrong with that? Pinarayi Vijayan has also travelled in aircraft belonging to individuals. Former Chief Ministers, including Pinarayi Vijayan and Oommen Chandy, have done this. I will do this again,” he said.
“All Chief Ministers in India do this. They travel in private individuals’ aircraft. You all know who owns aircraft in Kerala; they are all important people. If someone arranges an aircraft for the Chief Minister of Kerala to visit a disaster site, they will not come and ask for a favour in return,” Satheesan said.
According to reports, the aircraft belonged to Kelachandra Logistics Private Limited in Bengaluru, a company owned by the family of Karnataka Energy minister KJ George. It was booked by Chipsan Aviation Pvt Ltd. It is unclear who footed the bill, fully or partially.
Satheesan has also defended two other instances that have come under scrutiny: Local Self Government Minister KM Shaji’s use of a friend’s Range Rover as his official vehicle and Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala’s US trip, sponsored by a private individual.
Legal experts TNM spoke to said by accepting a charter flight sponsored by an acquaintance for official duty, the Chief Minister breached key provisions of the Code of Conduct for Union and state ministers issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
One of the clauses, 4.1(a), specifically restricts ministers from receiving valuable gifts or private hospitality and air travel could be deemed as one.
The Code says a minister should “not accept valuable gifts except from close relatives” and that neither the minister nor members of their family should accept gifts from anyone with whom the minister has official dealings.
Advocate Thulasi K Raj, who practises in the Supreme Court, said the issue has to be viewed through the standards expected of people holding public office.
“It is highly improper for a Chief Minister to accept a private sponsorship of a flight for official travels,” she said.
Thulasi also referred to Clause 3(1)(a) of the Code of Conduct, which prohibits ministers from accepting political, charitable or other contributions. “In addition to this, The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, prohibits public servants from taking illegal gratification,” she said.
For Thulasi, the larger concern is the potential conflict that can arise when a private party provides a benefit to a public office-holder.
“Going by our norms of political propriety and avoidance of conflict of interest, it is highly improper for a chief minister to accept a private sponsorship of a flight for official travels. He must never put himself in a situation where he will have to choose between public interest and private interest,” she said.
By engaging with undisclosed private parties and receiving sponsorship of this nature, the Chief Minister is compromising the dignity of his office, she added.
Thulasi also said Satheesan’s assurance that no favour would be sought or given does not, by itself, address the concern.
“It is precisely to avoid such potential scenarios why ministers and persons in high offices are expected to act with responsibility. The foundation of democracy rests on public servants safeguarding principles of political decency in their official conduct,” she said.
Former Lok Sabha Secretary General PDT Achary said there is no law that specifically deals with these matters. “These are largely left to the discretion and good sense of ministers. After all, ministers are senior politicians and public figures, and they should know what they should and should not do,” Achary said.
He said ministers were under constant public scrutiny and should be conscious that their actions and statements were being watched.
“The concern when a minister accepts hospitality from a private individual or a company is that the person may subsequently receive some favour from the minister at the expense of the state,” he said.
According to him, the possibility of perceived or actual favour is what makes private hospitality involving ministers a matter of concern. “It creates a fear of possible misuse of official machinery or a display of official favour towards an individual,” he said.
At the same time, Achary said circumstances matter, particularly when a minister needs to reach a location urgently.
“If a minister has to travel somewhere urgently and the government is unable to arrange proper transport immediately, the minister may have to depend on private help. When the need is urgent, you cannot always wait for the government to organise transportation,” he said.
However, he stressed that such assistance could not automatically become a general rule.
While defending Shaji’s use of the Range Rover car, Satheesan pointed to the age and condition of government vehicles.
“Many ministers in the state are using old vehicles which frequently break down. The vehicle KM Shaji used was 10-years-old. So he borrowed a car from his friend, what is wrong with that,” Satheesan said.
Shaji had been using a Range Rover belonging to his friend Yakoob Thillenkery as his official vehicle for weeks. When the impropriety was pointed out Shaji said he occasionally uses his friends’ vehicles and that he had obtained the necessary permission.
IUML state general secretary PMA Salam also defended him, saying Shaji had borrowed the vehicle when his official car was under maintenance and returned it afterwards.
Satheesan also defended the practice of ministers accepting sponsored foreign trips.
“I told ministers to go abroad and learn things and come. There is no expense for the government. There are Malayali organisations abroad. If they sponsor trips for ministers what is wrong in that?,” he asked.
Ramesh Chennithala said in a video that he and his wife travelled to Chicago to attend the wedding of the son of Felix Simon, who had been part of the leadership of Congress-backed Jaihind TV. He also said the hosts sponsored the expenses of the trip, which led to criticism.
Environmental lawyer Harish Vasudevan argued that official travel should be undertaken through government resources or at government expense.
“When the government travels for official purposes, it should use government vehicles or travel at government expense. Such travel is accountable. The government is obliged to explain to the Legislative Assembly, the people and the courts where the Chief Minister travelled and for what purpose,” he said.
Harish also questioned the acceptance of free services or benefits from private businessmen.
“Does the Chief Minister have any doubt about what is wrong with accepting services or favours provided free of cost by private businessmen to the Chief Minister or ministers? That is corruption,” he said.
