THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Former Kerala Chief Secretary Dr A. Jayathilak may face a Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau inquiry over a revenue order he issued in October 2020 as Revenue Secretary, an order later revoked after it was allegedly used to fell and smuggle high-value trees in Muttil village in Wayanad.
Forest Minister Shibu Baby John is expected to place a recommendation for a Vigilance probe before the Home department before the weekend, a source said. The Home department is likely to entrust the anti-graft agency with the inquiry. Mr John has already told the Home Minister and the Chief Minister that the circumstances in which the order was issued need investigation. He has described those circumstances as “particularly significant”, noting that officials of the Revenue and Forest departments had recorded concerns that the order could lead to widespread tree-felling.
Dr Jayathilak, a 1991-batch IAS officer who served as the State’s 50th Chief Secretary from May 2025 to June 2026, issued the order under the Kerala Land Assignment Rules. Until then, the government retained absolute ownership of high-value “scheduled trees” on assigned land. The October 2020 order allowed assignees to fell trees they had planted, trees that had grown naturally, and trees already standing when the land was assigned. Rosewood, teak and ebony could be cut; sandalwood remained excluded.
The allegation now under examination is that the order was issued despite reservations from Revenue and Forest officials, and without the opinions of the Law and Forest departments. It is also reported that an interim order of the High Court against the Revenue department’s move was not brought to the notice of Ministers when the matter went before the Cabinet. The order was withdrawn about four months later, after officials found that timber smugglers had used the relaxation to move protected species. Mr John has questioned the motive behind the order and has said a conspiracy cannot be ruled out. He has also asked that the government examine whether actions of the previous administration created conditions that helped the accused evade prosecution.
According to the police chargesheet, 104 protected or endangered rosewood trees were cut and smuggled from revenue patta land in Muttil. Reporter Channel managing editor Anto Augustine and his two brothers are the prime accused. Twelve persons, including those alleged to have assisted the felling gang, have been arraigned. The Forest department has said it seized 108 rosewood trees in the case and has resubmitted a revised chargesheet after the Sulthan Bathery court returned an earlier one for missing documents and clerical errors. The Minister has rejected the suggestion that the case has collapsed, and has directed the Head of Forest Force to report whether the lapses in the chargesheet were inadvertent or deliberate.
No formal Vigilance case has yet been registered against Dr Jayathilak. The proposed inquiry would examine the decision to issue the order, not only the subsequent felling.
