Tainted Wakf CEO to lose post

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State Wakf board chief executive officer N.D. Pathan, who was arrested last week for accepting bribe, will be terminated from service soon. The state government is also preparing to review all the decisions taken by him during his tenure.
The department is also examining the possibility of appointing a serving judge for the post, in view of shortfall of Muslim officers in the state administration. It believes that this would bring about discipline in the functioning of the board.
Confirming the development , additional chief secretary of the minority affairs department, Thanksy Thekekkara said, “The process to terminate Pathan from service in under progress. The decision will be taken as soon as possible. We will also examine the decisions taken in the tenure of Pathan, as we can’t rule out the possibility of wrongdoing.”
Arif Naseem Khan, minister of minority affairs said, “I have directed the department to terminate Pathan from service immediately. We would also like to examine the major decisions taken in the tenure of Pathan. If anything is found to be incorrect, it shall be corrected,” Mr Khan added.
Ms Thekekkara informed that Mr Pathan was reappointed on December 2011 after retirement for two years as per the rule 7 of Wakf rules 2003. “It is an open fact that the minority department is facing a serious crunch of senior Muslim officers, as a result of which Pathan was reappointed two years ago and his tenure was going to end this December,” Ms Thekekkara stated.
However, as per the Wakf rules, only a Muslim officer with the rank of additional collector or deputy secretary at Mantralaya could be appointed as CEO of the board. “To overcome the problem, we are also examining the possibility that a serving judge could be appointed for the post. The law and judiciary department have been asked to give its opinion. We would also need the consent of the chief justice of the high court to implement the same,” Mr Khan said.