Retired HC judge to head solar panel scam probe commission

The Kerala government today appointed retired high court judge Justice G Sivarajan as the head of the Judicial Commission to probe the solar panel scam, after the high court refused to part with the services of a sitting judge.
The high court informed the government that due to shortage of judges and also in the light of a Supreme Court directive that "no sitting judge of any high courts should head a commission", it could not spare the services of a judge, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy told reporters here.
"The government received a letter from the high court in this regard yesterday," he said after a Cabinet meeting.

The commission would have a term of six months, said Chandy, who has been facing opposition demands for his resignation in view of the alleged links of some of his staff members with the prime accused in the scam.
Justice Sivarajan is presently the Chairman of the Backward Class Development Commission and he was appointed to the post by the previous LDF Government, Chandy pointed out.
Referring to CPI-M led LDF Opposition move to not co-operate with the commission being headed by a retired judge, he said "Opposition is running away after raking up the allegations till now."

Chandy maintained that though terms and references of the commission did not specify "CM and CM's office under its ambit, "one could take up before the commission all allegations made inside and outside the Assembly'.

On the LDF plan to lay seige to his official residence on December 9 as part of its agitation demanding his resignation, the Chief Minister said LDF stir was with an eye on the next Lok Sabha polls.
"LDF thinks that I am a good victim and so they had planned a prolonged agitation in view of the parliament polls," Chandy said.
LDF has been on collision course with the UDF Government for the last several months over the solar scam, which pertains to financial cheating by the accused in the case, Biju Radhakrishnan and Saritha Nair, offering solar energy solutions to their clients.

The LDF allegation is that Chandy and his office had favoured the accused. A staff member in Chandy's office was among those arrested in connection with the case.