No police case against Kerala CM Chandy in solar scam: HC
Kerala High Court on Friday suspended the vigilance court order to register an FIR against Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Minister Arayadan Mohammed in connection with solar scam
Kerala’s ruling Congress-led UDF government and Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Friday got a reprieve when the Kerala High Court put on hold a lower court order for registering an FIR against him and his cabinet colleague in solar panel scam case.
The petition of Chandy and state Power Minister Aryadan Mohammed came up before Justice P. Ubaid, who put the lower court order on hold for two months.
The second accused in the solar scam case, Saritha Nair levelled bribery allegations against the chief minister on Wednesday. She stated before the inquiry commission that she gave Rs 1.90 crore to a person called Thomas Kuruvilla that was meant for Chandy.
She had also alleged that Mohammed also was given Rs 40 lakh.
It was based on this that activist P.D. Joseph approached the Thrissur Vigilance Court on Wednesday and the judge ordered an FIR to be registered against Chandy and his cabinet colleague.
Meanwhile, The Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) members held a massive protest which turned violent as the police resorted to using teargas to disperse the crowd.
Outside the Kerala Secretariat, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) youth wing also agitated demanding Chandy’s ouster.
Earlier, the Thrissur Court has directed that an FIR should be filed against Chandy in connection with this scam.
The Kerala Chief Minister on Monday appeared before the probe panel in connection with the scam.
The scam, which is being probed by a Commission headed by Justice G. Sivaraman, was constituted by the Chief Minister in 2013 following massive protests by the Left-led opposition.
Biju Radhakrishnan, the prime accused in the solar scam case, had in December last year alleged that he paid Chandy a bribe of Rs 5.5 crore, out of which Rs. 5.1 crore was collected personally by the Chief Minister while the rest was paid to his personal staff. The Chief Minister has so far maintained that he has done no wrong and is prepared to face any probe. The solar scam pertains to cheating several persons amounting to crores of rupees by Saritha Nair and her accomplice Biju Radhakrishnan by offering solar panel solutions.
The case took a political turn with the arrest of one of Chandy’s close personal aides, who has alleged links with the accused. Two other employees in his personal staff are also under the scanner in connection with the scam.
The BJP is adamant on Chandy’s resignation and has demanded a response from the Congress high command on this matter. The Congress however, has staunchly defended the Chief Minister saying that ‘mischievous and malicious’ allegations will continue to fly as it is election time in the state.
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