Chandy welcomes HC decision

With Kerala High Court's order staying portions of critical observations against his office coming as some relief ahead of April 10 Lok Sabha polls, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy today welcomed it, saying the remarks were made without hearing him.
Chandy told reporters at Kothamangalam that he was happy that some portions in the judgement had been stayed. 'court had made certain observations without hearing me', he said.
Defence minister, A K Antony, campaigning in the state for Congress candidates, also welcomed the stay. Opposition leader, V S Achutanandan, and other Marxist party leaders should react to the verdict now, he said.

The opposition had seized on the Mar 28 observations by the single judge while ordering a CBI probe into two land grabbing cases against Chandy's former gunman Salim Raj and demanded the Chief Minister's resignation, which was rejected by Congress.
Admitting an appeal by the state government seeking to expunge all the observations in Para 70 of the judgement, a division bench today stayed two sentences.