Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will appear before the Justice G Sivarajan Judicial Commission looking into Kerala’s infamous solar scam for witness examination at Thiruvananthapuram on January 25. Chandy has through his lawyer informed the commission of his readiness to appear before it.
The commission took the decision to examine Chandy in the context of the allegations that came up against him and the Chief Minister’s office in connection with the solar scam. There were allegations that the fraudsters involved in the scam had used the Chief Minister’s office as their operational base with the help of several of his former aides.
The examination will provide Chandy with an opportunity to respond to all the allegations leveled against him over the solar scam. The commission had earlier sent notice to him asking him to appear before it for examination under Section 8 (B) of the Commissions of Inquiry Act and informing that the procedure could be carried out as per his convenience.
The Chief Minister’s former personal staff members Tenny Joppen and Jikkumon Jacob will be subjected to examination on January 15 and 18 respectively. Director General of Police TP Senkumar and Additional DGP A Hemachandran, who headed the special team probing the scam, are to appear before the panel respectively on January 21 and 20.
Expressing unhappiness at the inability to complete witness examination in the solar scam though two-and-a-half years had passed since the commission’s formation, Justice Sivarajan on Tuesday said that the commission’s works were getting delayed due to witnesses’ refusal to appear before it.
At the same time, con woman Saritha S Nair, prime accused in the solar fraud case, failed to appear before the commission on Tuesday. Her lawyer informed the commission that she was unable to appear as she had to be present before a court in Alappuzha in connection with another case.
This was the fourth time Saritha had avoided appearing before the judicial panel. On two occasions of her appearance, she had avoided examination citing health reasons. Justice Sivarajan observed that Saritha could be refusing to appear for examination due to pressures from outside.
The solar scam pertains to the duping of several persons of crores of rupees by Saritha and her former live-in partner Biju Radhakrishnan promising to install high-profit solar power projects. The fraud turned into a huge sensation due to the allegations of involvement of top Congress leaders, Ministers, MlAs, MPs and even the office of the Chief Minister.