KOCHI: The much-awaited contents of the Solar Commission report have been revealed, but the battle has just begun. The scene of action will shift to the court in the coming days. The legal battle against the findings of the Commission report and the further proceedings are likely to drag on and on, said experts.
Former Director General of Prosecution T Asaf Ali told Express an independent evaluation of the Commission report reveals it smacks of mala fide and is replete with illegalities and political motives.
After one year of its constitution, the Commission expanded the terms of reference as per the proceedings on November 7, 2014, and incorporated five more items specifically pinpointing allegations towards the then Chief Minister, his staff, the Home Minister and the mobile phone calls made by the two fraudsters, etc. due to the reasons well known to the Commission.
It is an admitted fact none of the complainants or any witnesses in the 33 criminal cases chargesheeted by the Special Investigation Team has said anything incriminatory against any of the named persons indicted by the Commission, Ali said. He said the Commission of Inquiry is not a court and the findings are not appealable and the aggrieved party has no remedy to redress the grievances for the injury inflicted on them on account of the indictments, if any, made in a casual manner due to extraneous considerations or otherwise.
Legal experts pointed out the statement of the Chief Minister on the floor of the Assembly regarding the action taken on the report that a new Special Investigation Team has been constituted to investigate the criminal cases as recommended by the Commission is also without any legal sanction. In this context, it is very relevant to note the FIR registered against the then Minister late M V Raghavan, top police/revenue officials pursuant to the recommendations of the one-man Judicial Commission headed by K Padmanabhan Nair, District Judge, probing the Kuthuparamba firing, was quashed by the Apex Court on the ground that report or the findings of the Commission of Inquiry are not binding on civil or criminal courts. They are meant only for the information of the government.
The Apex Court further observed in that case the police may make use of the report bearing in mind it does not preclude the investigating agency from forming a different opinion from that of the Commission.
Ali stated the Commission of Inquiry was appointed to inquire into the fraud and cheating perpetrated by two accused on 33 persons and it was not a Commission to inquire into the alleged rape and molestation as alleged by one of the female accused in the Solar fraud cases at a belated stage. Under what authority the Commission inquired the alleged complaint of molestation and rape is a shocking thing. The Commission of Inquiry recorded the testimony of the female accused in camera and the then government pleader being denied an opportunity to be present at the time of her examination is also highly suspicious.
At the same time, some legal experts endorse the Commission report.
What next
If the Special Investigation Team led by ADGP Rajesh Dewan registers an FIR, the aggrieved persons can challenge this in court. Legal experts said for registering an FIR, there must be a First Information Statement and the SIT cannot register a crime based on the report. For registering a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act, a complaint should be filed alleging corruption.
While dismissing a petition filed by Saritha Nair seeking a CBI probe in the Solar scam, the Kerala High Court in 2016 had asked how a person accused in 33 criminal cases for allegedly squeezing crores of rupees from different people could claim credibility?
It is a guaranteed right of an individual to live in dignity. Any aspersion or unnecessary stricture without any basis on the personal reputation of an individual will tantamount to an encroachment of his constitutional right. The findings of the Commission in the context is per se illegal, unjust and arbitrary without any authority, said T Asaf Ali, former Director General of Prosecutions.