Two former IAS officers get reprieve in Palmolein case

A vigilance court in Kerala today acquitted two former senior IAS officers from the over two- decade-old Palmolein import graft case, which had caused a loss of Rs 2.33 crore to the state exchequer in 1991-92.
The order was issued by the Enquiry Commissioner and Special Judge (Vigilance) S S Vassan while allowing the discharge petitions of former Chief Secretary S Padmakumar and former Additional Chief Secretary Scaria Mathew from the case relating to import of palmolein by the state government allegedly at inflated price from Malaysia in May 1991 and April 1992 causing a loss of Rs 2.33 crore to the state.

The scam took place when Chief Minister Oommen Chandy was the finance minister in the Congress-led UDF government headed by the late K Karunakaran.
Both the Supreme Court and the high court had disallowed a plea of CPI-M veteran V S Achuthanandan to conduct a probe into the role of Chandy as an accused in the case, in which names of some politicians and bureaucrats have cropped up.