THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala High Court has pronounced its verdict in the SNC-Lavlin graft case involving Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan when he was the state electricity minister from 1996 to1998. A background of the case
What's the case?
Pinarayi Vijayan, while serving as electricity minister from May 1996 to October 1998, along with other accused, colluded to award the supply contract for the renovation and modernisation of the Pallivasal, Sengulam, and Panniar hydroelectric projects to Canada's SNC-Lavalin, bringing a huge loss to the exchequer
Timeline:
1995: Congress-led UDF government signs an agreement SNC-Lavalin and KSEB to renovate three hydroelectric projects
February 4, 1996: A consultancy agreement signed with SNC-Lavalin for technical assistance. Congress' G Karthikeyan was the then electricity minister
1997: The consultancy pact was changed to an agreement to supply equipment
January 1998: KSEB approves the final agreement which involves foreign financial assistance worth Rs 130 crore
March 1998: The Kerala cabinet approves the final agreement
July 1998: The final agreement was signed with SNC-Lavalin. Pinarayi Vijayan, then electricity minister, justified awarding Rs 374 crore for 100 MW project saying that the Canadian company agreed to give Rs 98.3 crore for the Malabar cancer Institute
June 2001: Corruption allegations first raised on the deal with SNC-Lavalin
January 2002: Kerala Legislative subject committee recommends vigilance probe into the deal
March 2003: UDF government led by AK Antony orders vigilance probe
July 2005: CAG report says Rs 374 crore public money wasted from the exchequer
July 2005: Opposition leader VS Achuthanandan's plea to blacklist SNC-Lavalin approved by Congress' electricity minister Aryadan Mohammed
March 2006: Congress-led UDF government under Oommen Chandy decides to hand over the case to the CBI
January 2007: Kerala High court orders a CBI probe
January 2009: CBI names Pinarayi Vijayan as ninth accused and asks the court to allow his trial
March 2011: The Supreme Court orders the CBI to investigate the Lavalin case related to alleged loss of Rs 86 crore to the public exchequer without fear or favour
July 2013: The CBI submits in court that there is concrete evidence of Pinarayi Vijayan's role in the case
October 2013: The special court observes that the chargesheet submitted by the CBI was 'incomplete'
November 2013: The CBI special court discharges Pinarayi and six others from the case
January 2014: In its revision petition filed in the High court, the CBI contended that the special court did not take into account the huge financial loss incurred by the government and the state exchequer while discharging Vijayan and other accused
February 2014: The Oommen Chandy government submits in the Kerala HC that the exchequer suffered a loss of Rs 266.25 crore
January 2016: The state government approaches the High court seeking speedy hearing of the petition challenging the acquittal of the accused
March 2017: The CBI submits in the High court that there is enough evidence to show criminal conspiracy at all stages of awarding the contract to SNC-Lavalin
August 23, 2017: The Kerala High Court pronounces its verdict