May 11: A Kerala minister who had to quit over allegations that he molested a TV anchor on a flight nearly three years ago was cleared of the charges today.

A Tamil Nadu court said the prosecution had failed to prove the charge that Kerala Congress (Joseph) leader P.J. Joseph molested Lakshmi Gopakumar during a Chennai-Kochi flight in August 2006.

The judicial magistrate of the Sriperumbudur district court, N. Krishnaswami, said the case was being dismissed as it lacked proper “basis, witnesses and evidence”.

The verdict sparked speculation that Joseph, who was PWD minister in the Left government, would return to the cabinet. But factionalism in Joseph’s party and the polls could cause a delay.

Lakshmi, not present in the court, had alleged that Joseph thrust his hand between two seats and groped her on the Kingfisher flight.

A Kerala government probe had confirmed the charges. Joseph had denied the allegation but quit the cabinet after the incident caused a furore. The flight captain, Shaji Madhavan, and other crew members had deposed as witnesses.

“The truth has finally come out,” said Joseph, who was present in the court along with his family members and party leaders.

Current PWD minister Mons Joseph, who is from Kerala Congress (J), called Joseph to congratulate him and offered to resign to make way for the senior leader.

Chief minister V.S. Achuthanandan said he was delighted to hear of the acquittal but added that Joseph’s return would be decided by the Left Front.

Front convener Vaikom Viswan also expressed happiness and said the future course of action on Joseph would be decided soon.

An immediate re-induction appeared unlikely, though, because of rebels in Joseph’s party said to be close to the dominant faction of the CPM. Joseph himself hinted at hurdles, saying his “return to the cabinet can be discussed later”.