Palmolein case: HC admits VS plea

The Kerala High Court on Monday admitted a petition filed by Opposition Leader V S Achuthanandan challenging the order of the Thrissur Vigilance Court giving a clean chit to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in the Palmolein Case after accepting the report of the Vigilance. Justice S S Sateeschandran also issued a notice to the government. The court asked the state to file a statement within one week.

Achuthanandan submitted that the court had accepted the Vigilance report saying that no evidence was forthcoming in relation to the involvement of the then Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, without considering the objections raised by him to the report. “The Special Judge had not addressed any of the legal issues involved in the case,” said Achuthanandan.

The report filed by the Vigilance and Anti-corruption Bureau stated that the investigation found that Oommen Chandy, the then Finance Minister in the UDF Cabinet, was not aware of the details of the decision to import palmolein from a Singapore-based firm.

The court also admitted a similar plea filed by BJP leader Alphons Kannanthanam challenging the Special Judge’s order in the case. He submitted that the judge did not mention anything about the objections raised by him and that the basic principles of natural justice have been denied.