The matter came up before a bench of Justices N V Ramana and Mohan M Shantanagoudar but was adjourned following request from some of the accused.Appeals in the multi-crore SNC-Lavalin graft case, in which Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had found himself in the dock but was later discharged, will come up in the Supreme Court for hearing only after June.
The matter came up before a bench of Justices N V Ramana and Mohan M Shantanagoudar but was adjourned following request from some of the accused.
Appearing for CBI, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said he was ready to argue the matter.
According to the request for adjournment, the court said it will however be able to take it up next only after the court reopens, following the summer recess on July 1. Besides the CBI’s appeal challenging the August 23, 2017 decision of the Kerala High Court which had upheld a trial court order discharging Vijayan in the case, the apex court will also consider petitions filed by some of the accused whom the High Court had directed should face trial.
Congress leader V M Sudheeran too has filed a plea seeking impleadment.
A designated CBI court in Thiruvananthapuram had discharged Vijayan and six other accused in the case on November 5, 2013. The CBI then approached the HC which upheld the discharge of Vijayan and two others. However it set aside the discharge of three of the accused and directed that the case against them will stand revived in the trial court.
The case relates to the award for renovation and modernisation of three hydro-electric projects in the period 1995-1997. The MOU between Kerala State Electricity Board and the Canadian company was signed on August 10, 1995. The scandal came to light following an audit by the Principal Accountant General of Audit (Kerala) who pegged the loss to the exchequer at over Rs 300 crores.
