HC throwns out Achuthanandan plea against Oommen Chandy

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Kochi: Kerala High Court on Tuesday dismissed the petitions filed by Opposition Leader V.S.Achuthanandan and BJP national executive member Alphons Kannanthanam challenging the order of the Thrissur Vigilance Court giving a clean chit to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in the 1991 palmolein import corruption case. The court also directed the special court to take further steps to expedite the trial of the case.
Justice S. S. Satheeshachandran observed that the investigators after getting formal permission proceeded with the further investigation to ascertain whether former finance minister and current chief minister Oommen Chandy had any role in the corruption.
They  finally concluded, not once but twice,  that there was no material to hold him culpable of any offence. The challenges raised by the petitioners against Chandy before the special court are devoid of any merit.
The petitioners argued that Chandy, overlooking the rules and regulations, signed the notes to place before the cabinet as an extra item which was not earlier included on the agenda fixed and notice was  given to the ministers. However, the court observed that the action of Chandy in no way will indicate that he did any illegal act.
The court further observed that there is some force in the submissions made by Advocate-General K. P. Dandapani that the objections  raised to the report before the Vigilance Special Judge by the petitioners are only to drag on the proceedings and thus to gain some political advantage keeping alive the allegations against Chandy in the limelight before the public.
The court also observed that the assertions of some other accused in the case that Chandy was also aware of the shady palmolein deal cannot be viewed or given any value to impute corruption against Chandy to rope him as a co-accused in the case.
The prosecution case is that the import of 15,000 metric tonnes of palmolein to the state through a company in a contract with the civil supplies caused a loss of  `2.32 crore to the state’s exchequer during 1991.