In a verdict that will have a considerable impact on Kerala’s political scenario, the CBI special court here on Tuesday discharged CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan from the SNC-Lavalin graft case.
Pronouncing the judgment on a discharge petition filed by Pinarayi and the other accused in the case, CBI special court judge R Reghu said that the CBI had failed to establish dishonest and fraudulent intention, abuse of official positions, criminal conspiracy and element of cheating in connection with the awarding of contract to Canadian company SNC-Lavalin for the renovation of three hydel projects. “I have no hesitation in holding that the charges levelled against the accused are groundless and all the accused are entitled to get a discharge,’’ he said in the 67-page verdict.
The court discharged seven of the nine accused, including Pinarayi Vijayan. SNC-Lavalin vice-president Klaus Triendl and SNC-Lavalin company are still listed as accused. Former Principal Secretary (Power) K Mohanachandran; KSEB former member (Accounts) K G Rajasekharan Nair; KSEB former Chairman R Sivadasan; former Chief Engineer (Generation) M Kasthuriranga Iyer; KSEB former Chairman Siddhartha Menon and former joint secretary (Power) A Francis are the other accused who were discharged.
Rejecting the chargesheet filed by the CBI, the court said that the prosecution case collapsed due to its own inherent weakness. It also said that the CBI could not prove that any of the accused gained “pecuniary advantage.’’ Regarding administrative failure in obtaining the grant for the Malabar Cancer Centre from CIDA, the court said “administrative failure/blunder are not indictable under our penal statutes.
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