Kerala affidavit names Vijayan in Lavalin case

The Kerala government Tuesday filed a fresh affidavit in the Kerala High Court here Tuesday naming CPI-M state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan for having caused loss to the state exchequer in the SNC Lavalin case.

Incidentally it was last month, with just a few days left for the appeal to end, that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a review petition in the case, in which Vijayan was discharged by a CBI court in the state capital Thiruvananthapuram last year.

With the state government also impleading in the case through this new affidavit, it will now take a political turn as the Lok Sabha elections are just months away.

In the affidavit, the state government points out that the 1997 deal with the Canadian company Lavalin took place when Vijayan was the power minister and it cost a loss of Rs.266 crore to the state.

Providing more inputs in the affidavit, the government said the deal was inked even when the Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited had given a lower quote to get three power plants renovated. But, its bid was ignored and the contract awarded to the Canadian company.

CBI special court Judge R. Reghu on Nov 5, 2013, termed the CBI's charge sheet baseless and accepted Vijayan's discharge petition. The judge exonerated all the seven who had filed the discharge plea.

However, the CBI, in its review petition, said the CBI court did not go in-depth into the agreement signed by Vijayan with the Canadian company.

The CBI in June 2009 filed the charge sheet against nine accused in the Rs.374-crore scam related to Lavalin.

Vijayan was the seventh accused in the charge sheet.

Way back in 2006, just ahead of the then assembly polls, the state government then led by chief minister Oommen Chandy, announced the case would be handed over to the CBI.