In a verdict that could have a huge impact on the Kerala’s politics and that of the CPI(M), the Special CBI Court in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday exempted State CPI(M) secretary Pinarayi Vijayan from the list of accused in the sensational SNC-lavalin corruption case in which he was seventh accused.
The court also dropped six others from the list of accused. Allowing the discharge pleas of Pinarayi and others, Special Judge R Raghu said the Prosecution had failed in proving the charges of fraudulent intention, abuse of official position, cheating and conspiracy slapped on them.
The verdict is seen as politically significant as it could lead to Pinarayi’s return to the electoral scene and to total silencing of his enemies within the party.
According to legal experts, the discharge of seven of the nine accused might effectively close the possibilities of any further progress in the case - though the CBI has decided to approach the High Court with an appeal — that has been dominating Kerala’s political scene — and ravaged the State CPI(M)’s unity for the past seven years.
The CBI has so far not been able to bring the remaining two accused — ninth accused SNC lavalin company of Canada and its former senior vice-president Klaus Trendl, sixth accused — to the court and legal experts are of the opinion that there could be no difference even if they are brought now as it would be difficult to prove their guilt in the context of the court’s observations.
“The time of the hunt that I faced in the political career is over,” were the first words of Pinarayi in response to the court’s verdict. “Those who hunted me ranged from former communists to anti-communists and yellow papers to great leaders. But I survived it with party’s support and my trust in truth... I had committed no wrong,” he said.
In a surprising celebration of victory of the State party chief in the corruption case, workers distributed sweets at the AKG Centre, the State CPI(M) headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram. The central CPI(M) leadership, which had declared total support to Pinarayi from the moment the CBI probe was announced in the case, welcomed the court’s verdict.
Opposition leader and CPI(M)’s central committee member VS Achuthanandan, Pinarayi’s Enemy No 1 in the party who had just 15 days back reiterated his belief that the party secretary was guilty in the scam, said he respected the verdict, adding that his earlier position on the case had become irrelevant with the court’s order.
The judge ruled that the chargesheet filed by the CBI in the case was not maintainable as there was no evidence for any of the charges, including conspiracy and cheating it had leveled against the accused. The court pointed out that the CBI itself had not accused Pinarayi Vijayan of making any personal financial gain from the deal with the Canadian company.
The case pertains to the alleged corruption in the Rs 374.5-crore agreement between the Kerala State Electricity Board and SNC lavalin for the repair and renovation of the Pallivasal, Senkulam and Panniyar hydel power projects. The agreement was finalized when Pinarayi was the State Power minister in 1998.
The then Congress-led UDF government in 2006 had proposed a CBI probe into the deal - which was ratified by the High Court later - after the CAG found that the agreement had failed to deliver what was intended of that and had in effect led to the loss of the whole contract amount to the Exchequer.
It was also pointed out that those who entered into the agreement with the Canadian company had failed to ensure that the Canadian agencies which had offered a grant of Rs Rs 98.30 crore to the Malabar Cancer Centre in Thalassery paid it in full. However, the court pointed out that the understanding on this itself was legally invalid.
The discharge order has come as a huge relief for Pinarayi as he had been forced to keep himself away from contesting in two Assembly elections because of the corruption case. However, Vijayan was not ready to view the case as personal. “When I fulfill the duties given to me by the party, the enmity of others to the party could be directed against me as well,” he said.