The CBI court here hearing the discharge petition of CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan in the SNC Lavalin case on Monday asked the CBI prosecutor why they did not arraign NRI businessman Dileep Rahulan as an accused in the case.
While hearing the plea to exempt him from SNC Lavalin graft case, CBI judge R Reghu also asked the CBI prosecutor whether Pinarayi Vijayan had visited Canada on his own or after receiving any invitation from the company.
Though the CBI prosecutor argued that the entire graft case was a result of a conspiracy by Pinarayi Vijayan and Dileep Rahulan, who acted as an agent of the Canadian company SNC Lavalin, the prosecutor could not provide a satisfactory explanation to the query of the judge.
On Vijayan’s visit to Canada, the CBI prosecutor said that two Canadian agencies Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and Export Development Canada (EDC) had forwarded their requests through the company.
But the CBI did not have any documentary evidence to substantiate this claim, following which the judge held that it should be clarified along with sufficient documents.
The judge also heard the arguments of the CBI on the discharge petitions of other accused in the case. The case was posted for October 3 for further hearing.