SC adjourns Pinaryi, named Lavalin case for the 33rd time
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Thiruvananthapuram: After the Supreme Court adjourned in the SNC-Lavalin case for the 33rd time on Thursday, the fate of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who has been named in the case, remained uncertain, IANS reported.
The Kerala High Court had given Vijayan relief in December 2017, but the Central Bureau of Investigation approached the Supreme Court, contending that Vijayan should face trial in the case.
As the case came up before a bench headed by Chief Justice U.U. Lalit directed the registry to post the hearing after six weeks.
The Chief Justice Lalit-headed bench in August posted the case for hearing on September 13 and said that it should be ensured that it is not deferred, but then also, it was deferred to October 20 and has been shifted again now.
The case pertains to a loss of Rs 374 crore in the Kerala State Electricity Board's (KSEB) contract with the Canadian-based SNC Lavalin for the renovation and modernisation of Pallivasal, Sengulam and Pannier hydroelectric projects in Idukki district, in 1996 when Vijayan was stated Power Minister in the cabinet of E.K.Nayanar.
The Congress in Kerala has been alleging that there is a secret pact between the BJP in Delhi and Vijayan, and that's why the case has been progressing at a snail's pace.
In 2017, after the Kerala High Court gave Vijayan a clean chit, he immediately called a press meeting and slammed the Oommen Chandy government, which, in 2006, handed over this case to the CBI just before the Assembly polls then.