Two acquitted in Palmolein case

THRISSUR: The Thrissur Vigilance Court Tuesday convicted former chief secretary K Padma Kumar and additional chief secretary Zacharia Mathew, accused in the Palmolein case. The court passed the order while considering the removal pleas of the two. Meantime, chief secretary Jiji Thomson and former food minister T H Mustafa will continue as accused as the court did not consider their removal pleas.

Apart from the two, other accused are P J Thomas, the then civil supplies secretary and Sadasivan and Sivaramakrishnan, officials of the Palmolein Company.

The two were acquitted at a time the trial in the case is set to begin. The vigilance had made Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, a witness.
The Supreme Court had earlier rejected Mustafa’s plea seeking a stay on high court’s verdict that the case cannot be withdrawn. The court directive was that the case cannot be withdrawn as it has political importance.

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