Govt files plea against Pinarayi in Lavalin case

KOCHI: The government Wednesday filed a plea in the Kerala High Court seeking to immediately consider the revision plea filed against the deed of the CBI court acquitting CPM politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan in the SNC Lavalin case. Prosecution Director General T Asif Ali filed the plea for the government. A bench led by Justice B Kemal Pasha considering revision pleas will consider this plea in the coming days.

The CBI court in the capital city had acquitted seven accused including Pinarayi Vijayan on November 4 in 2013 in the case based on charges that the modernisation of a few hydroelectric projects undertaken by the state electricity board with the help of the Canada based company had caused a loss of Rs 374 crore to the state. Pinarayi was the electricity minister when the deal with SNC Lavalin was concluded. The court had mentioned that the CBI had failed in proving the corruption charges and conspiracy charged against the accused. Siddharth Menon, R Sivadasan, K Mohana Chandran, K G Rajashekaran Nair, Kasturiranga Iyer and A Francis are the six others acquitted.

The CBI and crime editor Nanda Kumar, a witness in the case, filed a revision plea questioning the order of the CBI court. The single bench, who accepted these pleas, had on February 11, 2014 directed to send a notice to Pinarayi and others.  The government approached the court requesting to consider immediately the revision pleas as no further steps were not taken on the pleas.  The government’s plea has mentioned that the CBI court acquitted the accused without considering the evidences in a right manner and that the action of the lower court does not exist legally. The deal was given to SNC Lavalin Company after skipping rules. The 90-page affidavit has also stated that the deal was given without inviting a tender.

No comments: