KOCHI: Kerala High Court on Monday came out against Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan, who approached the court seeking a CBI probe into the implementation of the K-FON project. “What is the public interest in the matter? How the present allegations would affect the public interest? Why is the court being used for everything? How can the petitioner challenge the tender notification for the project through a Public Interest Litigation?” the court asked the petitioner.
The Division Bench also said, “We will look into everything and we will pass appropriate orders. At the same time, we will examine whether it is ‘public interest’ or ‘publicity interest litigation’.
The court pointed out that the government order selecting the BEL consortium was issued on July 15, 2019, and the court asked why it is being challenged after five years. The court also asked whether the award of the contract was challenged earlier by anyone else. Satheesan’s counsel said the CAG had made some remarks about the project on May 16, 2023. The plea, the counsel said, is based on the report of the CAG. “I am only requesting the court to have an inquiry by CBI in this matter,” the counsel added, upon which the Bench comprising A J Desai and Justice V G Arun asked, “For what purpose?”
Nevertheless, the court directed the state government to file a counter affidavit without issuing notice to the respondents in the petition. The petition said the CAG had come down heavily on the government for violating tender conditions. Advocate General K Gopalakrishna Kurup, pointed out that the CAG has not completed its full investigations into the matter. “The CAG has only made some observations which were not even like the final report. No reliance can be placed on the [initial] observation,” he said.
The petition filed by Satheesan claims that a contract estimated at Rs 1,028.20 crore was auctioned for Rs 1,531.68 crore at a staggering difference of Rs 400 crore. The tender was awarded to the consortium at a loss of Rs 400 crore to the exchequer, it said. According to Satheesan, the project and all contracts arising from it were divided among proxies of those controlling the government.
Satheesan’s remarks against Lok Ayukta irrational, says HC
While considering the plea seeking a CBI probe into K-FON, the court observed that Satheesan had made irrational comments against the Lok Ayukta in his petition. “The Kerala Lok Ayukta has proved by now that it is incapable of performing the duty cast on it.” The division bench said, “We are sure that the petitioner will take necessary action so that such remarks that are likely to be made in the future can be avoided.”