Making alive once again the sensational SNC lavalin case pertaining to the alleged corruption in the awarding of a contract for the renovation of three Kerala hydroelectric projects, the CBI has listed out the errors committed by the State’s Marxist Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, while signing the agreement when he was Power Minister two decades back.
On Wednesday, when the Kerala High Court considered the CBI’s revision petition challenging 2013 verdict of a CBI court which exempted Pinarayi and six other accused from the case, the Agency submitted that there was a criminal conspiracy to help the Canadian utility company, SNC lavalin, which had won the contract and that he had a crucial role in that conspiracy.
According to the CBI, Pinarayi, who was Power Minister in the 1996-2001 lDF Government, had concealed information regarding the agreement signed with SNC lavalin from the Cabinet and had shown excessive interest in the deal. It said Pinarayi Vijayan had misled the State Cabinet in matters related to the contract and had even kept it in the dark.
The probe agency accused Pinarayi of using his influence to keep the objections raised by top officials of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) to the contract with the Canadian company concealed, saying that the contract with SNC lavalin was not legally maintainable. It also said that Pinarayi had given undue consideration for representatives of the company.
Another serious charge the CBI has leveled against Pinarayi is that there was conspiracy behind the awarding of the contract to the Canadian company for total renovation of the three projects even when he was aware that such a process was not necessary in the case of hydel projects and when he had even seen reports in this regard in advance.
The High Court had earlier sought answers from both the CBI and the accused for the nine questions including whether the Government had suffered any loss in the deal with SNC lavalin, what were the conditions of the contract and who all had signed in the contract. The CBI has given the court its report on these matters.
The Special CBI Court in Thiruvananthapuram had on November 5, 2013 exempted Pinarayi and six other accused from the SNC lavalin corruption case. Pinarayi was seventh accused in the case in which there were a total of nine accused including the Canadian utility company and its former senior vice-president Klaus Trendl.
At the same time, Pinarayi Vijayan through his counsel MK Damodaran, former Advocate General, submitted before the court that the allegations leveled against him by the CBI were baseless and that there was nothing illegal in the agreement with the Canadian company. He said the CBI’s allegations did not have the support of evidences or documents.
Senior Supreme Court lawyer Harish Salve is expected to appear for Pinarayi Vijayan in the High Court when it takes up the case on Friday. When the court considered the case on Wednesday, it was Pinarayi’s counsel Damodaran who informed that Salve would be appearing for his client.
The sensational case pertains to the alleged corruption in the `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 in 1998 when Pinarayi was Power minister.
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 with the Canadian company had failed to deliver what was intended of that and had in effect led to the loss of the whole contract amount.