High Court suspends FIR order against Kerala CM

High Court suspends FIR order against Kerala CM

FPJ BureauUpdated: Friday, May 31, 2019, 06:36 PM IST
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Thiruvananthapuram : In a major relief to the Congress-led United Democratic Front government in poll-bound Kerala, the High Court on Friday stayed a Vigilance Court order to the police to register an FIR against Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Power Minister Arayadan Mohammed in the solar scam case.

After considering the pleas filed by Chandy and Mohammed, Justice P Ubaid came down heavily on the Thrissur vigilance court judge S S Vasan for passing the order without examining the allegations leveled against the duo. He had also passed a similar order against Excise Minister K Babu, forcing him to resign.

 The court had ordered a probe after registering the FIR on a petition filed by social activist P D Joseph based on the deposition made by prime solar scam accused Saritha Nair against the duo. She had alleged that the two had received bribes of Rs.2.3 crores from her for supporting her firm’s projects.

The ruling Congress had accused the judge of playing politics. Incidentally, Vasan has sought voluntary retirement in the light of the repeated high court indictments. The judge, who has two more years to go before he complete his service, has submitted an application in this regard to the high court registrar, according to reports.

 In the case of Chandy, the high court observed that the vigilance judge had no power to pass such an order. He has acted mechanically without understanding the nature and extent of his powers. The judge said that his order was a violation of various Supreme Court and high court verdicts.

A court is not expected to act like a post office, Justice Ubaid said while referring to the remarks contained in the vigilance court’s verdict. The judge should have looked into the merit of the case before ordering the lodging of the FIR. The court noted that the petitioner in the case had no direct knowledge of the case. He approached the vigilance court merely on the basis of media reports.

In his petition, Chandy also said that the vigilance court proceeded to act upon newspaper reports to pass “the impugned order” and it has “committed a grave error of jurisdiction.’’ His lawyer argued that ordering of FIR in cases based on media reports will make it difficult for public servants to function.  He also said such court interventions were a threat to democracy.

Chandy welcomed the verdict saying that truth has prevailed. He repeated his charge that the allegations against him were the result of a conspiracy and vowed to unearth it.

Undeterred by the high court verdict, Saritha, who is an accused in 33 cheating cases related to the scam, continued with her tirade against Chandy. The solar scam accused also sought to target Chandy’s family during her deposition before the judicial commission on Friday.

 She said that the chief minister’s son had discussed a business deal with her firm at the behest of the chief minister. Saritha also tried to refute the statements the chief minister had given to the solar panel during his 14-hour long deposition on Monday.

 She said that she had digital and material evidence to prove her allegations and she would produce them at an appropriate forum at the appropriate time. Relying on her claims, the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led opposition Left Democratic Front has, meanwhile, decided to go ahead with their agitation to press their demand for the chief minister’s resignation.

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