Kochi: The Kerala High Court Friday ruled the state government should seek its prior permission before initiating action against the SNC-Lavalin company.
The High Court’s order was in the wake of the Kerala government’s decision to blacklist the Canadian company.
The court, while considering the SNC-Lavalin’s plea challenging the Kerala government’s decision, also directed the government to allow four more weeks for the Canadian company to reply to the show-cause notice served on it.
The SNC-Lavalin company, in its plea, argued that the show-cause notice was served on it without following procedures. It said that its deal with the government ended in 2004 and so the latter could not add the company to blacklist.
The case pertains to an agreement with SNC Lavalin which allegedly caused a huge loss to the state exchequer. The final agreement with the company was signed when Vijayan was power minister in the 1990s in the LDF ministry headed by the late E K Nayanar.