SNC Lavalin case: HC clears Kerala CM, says CBI made Pinarayi a scapegoat

Kerala High Court has in a crucial judgment upheld the order acquitting Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and three others in SNC Lavalin case. The court also discharged Pinarayi Vijayan of charges levelled against him. 

The court said that the CBI had made him a scapegoat and there is no evidence against him. Pinarayi had not made any financial benefit out of the deal and hence cannot be made accountable for the losses incurred to the state exchequer, the judgment said. 

However, three acquitted persons, accused 2,3 and 4, will have to undergo trial in the case. 

The judgment was pronounced in a petition filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) challenging the acquittal of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan by a special court nine months ago. 

Reading the 202-page verdict, Justice P Ubaid said that he received anonymous letters after it postponed the case for pronouncing statement. The court also asked media to report only after finishing pronouncement of the judgment. 

The High Court, in March, had directed CBI and the accused to furnish details of the hydroelectric project. The bench also sought clarification as to whether the alleged offer made by SNC-Lavlin for setting up a cancer centre was, in fact, part of the first contract or the memorandum of understanding. 

Pinarayi Vijayan had claimed that the company had not made any offer to provide funds to set up the cancer centre and that there is no evidence against him to be named accused in the case. 

• High Court
• Pinarayi Vijayan
• Lavalin
• SNC Lavalin
• Kerala