Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan (File)
THE KERALA High Court on Wednesday upheld the verdict of the CBI court, which had allowed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s discharge in the SNC Lavalin corruption case. The court observed that the investigating agency had “wrongly picked” Vijayan “without the support of any material (evidence)”. Vijayan was listed as the seventh accused in the case, which dates back to the mid-1990s, when he was the electricity minister in the CPI(M)-led LDF government in the state.
Justice P Ubaid of the High Court also upheld discharge of the first and eighth accused by the lower court in the Rs 374.5-crore graft case. The judge held, “The prosecution does not have sufficient and satisfactory material to work out a prima facie case against accused (numbers) one, seven (Vijayan) and the eighth. To frame a charge, there must be something before the court…to form a judicious opinion that they might have committed the alleged offence.’’
About Vijayan, Justice Ubaid said, “I find that despite material showing failure and inaction on part of many ministers who succeeded him, the CBI wrongly picked and chose the seventh accused for prosecution on an allegation of conspiracy without the support of any material.’’ The court observed that the project was approved by the state Cabinet, and “it would be unjust and illegal to pick and choose” Vijayan, the then electricity minister, and “prosecute him for the wrong or illegality committed by the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB)”.
The case is about an agreement between KSEB and Canadian firm SNC Lavalin for renovation of three hydel power projects in Kerala. The CAG had found that the deal had caused a loss of Rs 374.5 crore to the exchequer, which led to the case.
In 2013, the CBI trial court in Thiruvananthapuram had allowed the discharge petitions of Vijayan and other accused in the case. The CBI had challenged the decision in High Court. The High Court partially allowed the agency’s revision petition, as Justice Ubaid set aside the discharge of three others accused in the case.
Except Vijayan and a representative of Lavalin, all the other accused were bureaucrats then associated with KSEB and the power department. The court said, “Even if allegations against these three accused are accepted, such acts will not by itself amount to an act of misconduct punishable under Section 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. In the absence of any material or circumstances to show that these three persons had any sort of involvement… they cannot be roped in under Section 120(B) of IPC.” Stating that the verdict gives him “more energy”, Vijayan said, “The CPI(M) had stated that the case was politically motivated. That stand has been substantiated. Certain forces wanted to hurt the party through this case. They used CBI as a tool to target the party.”
In a statement, the CPI(M) Politburo said, “The High Court has stated that Pinarayi Vijayan was deliberately targeted by CBI. The court has comprehensively debunked all allegations levelled against him. The Lavalin case was sought to be used to besmirch the image of a leader of CPI(M) and the party. The verdict has effectively exposed these efforts.”
