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Journalism of Courage
The Kerala High Court on Wednesday acquitted state Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and two others in the SNC- Lavalin case saying that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) could not prove the accused guilty. In 1995, the Kerala state electricity board under the Congress-led UDF government took up a hydraulic infrastructure project with a Canadian Company SNC-Lavalin to renovate the hydraulic power stations at Pallivasal, Sengulam, and Panniar during 1995-1997 in the Idukki district of Kerala. According to the Memorandum signed by G. Karthikeyen the then Power Minister, the funds for the renovation were to be arranged by SNC-Lavalin from the Export Development Canada (EDC), Canada, and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
The deal resulted in an alleged net loss of Rs 374.50 crores to the state exchequer. In 1996, Pinarayi Vijayan, the then Power Minister proposed to provide a grant of Rs 100 crores to Malabar Cancer Centre and award Rs 374 crores for a 100MW project without tender. The final follow-up agreement with SNC-Lavalin regarding the renovation of PSP project was signed by Pinarayi Vijayan of Left Democratic Front, after they took office winning the majority in the Legislative Assembly in 1996, in February 1997.
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The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) later found out that Canadian company Lavalin was not the original equipment manufacturer and the goods were supplied by other firms at a much higher cost resulting in exceeding expenditure. Post CAG report, Kerala High Court ordered a CBI inquiry against Pinarayi Vijayan and others in January 2007. In 2009, the CBI filed a progress report on the investigation accusing Pinarayi Vijayan of hatching a criminal conspiracy while he was serving as the electricity minister between May 1996 to October 1998.
But in November 2013, Pinarayi Vijayan and the other accused were discharged from the case. The Congress-led UDF then moved the high court to seek an early hearing of the revision petition challenging the CBI court’s decision. They alleged it was Vijayan who finalised the deal with the Canadian company. Almost three months later, the CBI filed a revision petition in the high court. Crime magazine editor Nandakumar too moved the high court against exoneration of Vijayan and the others.
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