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SNC Lavalin case: SC to re-examine Kerala CM Vijayan’s discharge in case

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8 years ago

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SNC Lavalin case: SC to re-examine Kerala CM Vijayan's discharge in case

SC admits CBI’s appeal against discharge of Pinarayi Vijayan and others in the case by Kerala HC, stays trial till further orders

In a move that could have serious political ramifications in Kerala, the Supreme Court on Thursday (January 11) admitted an appeal by the CBI challenging the discharge of chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and two others in the SNC Lavalin corruption case by the Kerala High Court.

The apex court, which is hearing an appeal filed by other accused in the case who had not been discharged by the Kerala High Court, stayed the trial till further orders and issued notices to Vijayan, K. Mohanachandran and A Francis. Mohanachandran and Francis were senior officials in the Kerala government’s department of power in the 1990s when the alleged SNC Lavalin scam took place while Vijayan was the state’s energy minister.

Vijayan and the two others had been discharged in the case by the Kerala High Court in August last year. The CBI had appealed to the apex court against their discharge from all criminal and corruption charges and argued that the case needed to be re-heard.

On Thursday, a Bench of Justices NV Ramana and S Abdul Nazeer issued notice on the CBI appeal to Vijayan – now the Kerala chief minister – and the two former bureaucrats of the Kerala power department. However, the apex court dismissed the discharge petitions moved by KG Rajasekharan Nair, then Member (Accounts) of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) and Kasthuriranga Iyer, who was Chief Engineer (Generation) in the Board.

Nair and Iyer had submitted before the apex court that they should have been treated at par with Vijayan and the other two accused who had been discharged in the case. The Bench has now asked the CBI to counter the submissions made by Nair and Iyer.

Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the Bench: “I have a problem with the release of some accused alone” while asserting that the Kerala High Court had overstepped its jurisdiction under Article 227 of the Constitution and that the SNC Lavalin case needed to be re-heard. The CBI also told the apex court that there was “ample material to show the involvement” of Vijayan in the SNC Lavalin deal involving the award of contracts for the renovation of the three hydel power projects in Kerala in the 1990s.

The CBI said that the Kerala High Court had accused the premier investigation agency of adopting a “pick and choose” policy in naming the accused in the case but had employed the same tool while discharging Vijayan and some others from the case and leaving the rest of the charge-sheeted persons to face trial.

“All decisions [in the Lavalin deal) were taken with the knowledge of all the accused persons named in the charge sheet… discharge of the accused may lead to miscarriage of justice and delay the trial,” the CBI petition has contended.

“It is a matter of fact that there was ample material to prima facie show conspiracy in the matter, which may have been appreciated at the stage of trial only,” it said.

Appearing for the appellants in the case, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi urged the Bench to grant status quo on the trial proceedings stating that appeals made against earlier orders in the case by the Kerala High Court were pending before the Supreme Court.

“We have not been discharged. Continuation of trial will be detrimental to us now,” Rohatgi said on behalf of his client.

All accused, except the three discharged – including Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan – are facing trial for causing a loss of Rs 86.25 crore in the KSEB’s contracts with Canadian company SNC Lavalin for the renovation and modernisation of Pallivasai, Sengulam and Panniar hydroelectric power projects in Idukki district of Kerala.

The work was awarded to Lavalin, which was a consultancy firm, allegedly without inviting any tenders for the works that were estimated to cost Rs 243.74 crore. By the time work was completed, the costs had escalated to Rs 374.5 crore. Besides, the KSEB had failed to execute a binding agreement from Lavalin for a grant of Rs 98.3 crore for the construction of the Malabar Cancer Centre. A criminal case was registered on February 12, 2007 and the CBI filed its charge sheet on June 12, 2009.

For several years since the alleged scam broke, it was the cause of much political discomfiture for Vijayan. Political observers in Kerala claim that his alleged role in the SNC Lavalin scam is what had stalled his elevation to the Kerala chief minister’s post in May 2006 when the Left Front won the state assembly polls. The post eventually went to Vijayan’s senior and bitter rival VS Achuthanandan despite the latter’s advancing age.

In the run up to the May 2016 Kerala Assembly polls, the then incumbent Congress-led coalition government under Oomen Chandy, which was also facing charges of corruption, had sought to rake up Vijayan’s alleged involvement in the Lavalin scam hoping to dent the Left Front’s imminent romp to power in the state.

Less than a year after Vijayan became chief minister, the Kerala High Court discharged him in the Lavalin case giving him the much needed political and moral high ground to challenge the alleged corruption of his predecessor’s government and also hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP government at the Centre.

Over the past two years, Vijayan has been one of the most strident critics of the BJP among the Opposition leaders from across the country and has systematically succeeded in ensuring that the saffron party’s plans of making political inroads in Kerala do not succeed. His stature within the Left Front, more specifically the CPI (M), has also seen a meteoric rise and he has consolidated his position as the undisputed leader of the Kerala faction of the party, along with Prakash Karat. It was Vijayan’s ‘veto’ that dashed the party’s Bengal faction’s effort of securing a third Rajya Sabha term for Sitaram Yechury last year.

However, with the possibility of the SC now re-examining his discharge in the SNC Lavalin case and ordering that he stand trial for the over-two decade old alleged scam, tough political times lie ahead for Vijayan.

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BJP releases first list of 47 candidates for Kerala assembly polls

The BJP has released its first list of 47 candidates for the Kerala Assembly elections scheduled for April 9, including three former Union ministers.

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7 hours ago

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March 16, 2026

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BJP releases list of candidates

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday released its first list of 47 candidates for the upcoming Kerala Assembly elections scheduled for April 9.

Voting will take place for all 140 seats in the state assembly, with counting of votes scheduled for May 4. A party or coalition needs at least 70 seats to secure a majority in the House.

Among the candidates announced in the first list are three former Union ministers — Rajeev Chandrasekhar, V. Muraleedharan and George Kurian.

Key candidates announced

Kerala BJP chief and former Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar has been fielded from the Nemom assembly constituency. In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, Chandrasekhar lost the Thiruvananthapuram seat to three-time MP Shashi Tharoor, but he led in the Nemom assembly segment during that contest. The party believes this performance strengthens its prospects in the constituency.

Nemom has held political significance for the BJP since 2016, when senior leader O. Rajagopal won the seat and became the party’s first-ever MLA in the 140-member Kerala Legislative Assembly. The victory marked the BJP’s initial breakthrough in the state assembly.

However, the seat returned to the Left camp in the 2021 Assembly election when V. Sivankutty defeated BJP leader Kummanam Rajasekharan.

Former Union minister V. Muraleedharan will contest from the Kazhakoottam constituency, while George Kurian has been nominated from Kanjirappally.

Other candidates in the list

According to the list released by the party, several other candidates have also been announced for key constituencies. P. C. George will contest from Poonjar, R. Sreelekha from Vattiyoorkavu and Padmaja Venugopal from Thrissur.

The BJP has also nominated Sobha Surendran from Palakkad, Navya Haridas from Kozhikode North and Kavitha K. S. from Sulthanbathery, a reserved constituency.

Raji Prasad will contest from the Kunnathur seat reserved for Scheduled Castes, while R. Rashmi has been fielded from Kottarakkara.

Political backdrop in Kerala

Kerala’s electoral politics has traditionally alternated between the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF). However, the BJP has been attempting to expand its presence in the state.

The alternating trend was interrupted in the 2021 Assembly election when the electorate returned the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government to power for a second consecutive term.

The BJP believes recent electoral performances and local body successes have strengthened its position as it prepares to contest the upcoming assembly polls.

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Fire in ICU at SCB medical college hospital in Cuttack kills 10 patients

Ten patients died after a fire broke out in the trauma ICU at SCB medical college hospital in Cuttack early Monday morning. Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi announced compensation and ordered a judicial probe.

Published

16 hours ago

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March 16, 2026

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A major fire at the trauma care intensive care unit (ICU) of SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack, Odisha, early Monday morning left ten patients dead and several hospital staff members injured.

According to officials, the fire broke out between 2:30 am and 3:00 am in the trauma ICU where critically ill patients were undergoing treatment. Emergency teams rushed to the scene soon after the incident, and multiple fire engines were deployed to control the blaze and assist in rescue operations.

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said hospital staff were injured while evacuating patients from the affected ward during the emergency.

Patients shifted as rescue operations continued

Following the fire, 23 patients were moved to other departments and wards within the hospital to ensure their safety and continued medical care.

Speaking to reporters, the Chief Minister said seven critically ill patients died while being shifted to other ICUs and wards, while three more succumbed later.

“A total of 23 patients have been shifted to other departments. Seven serious patients died while shifting to other ICUs and wards, while another three patients died later. I have directed the concerned officers for proper treatment of the injured patients,” Majhi said.

Chief minister visits hospital, announces compensation

Soon after the incident, Majhi visited the hospital along with Odisha Health Minister Mukesh Mahaling to review the situation. They also met patients who were undergoing treatment at the facility.

The Chief Minister announced financial assistance of ₹25 lakh for the families of each deceased patient.

He also ordered a judicial probe into the incident to determine the cause of the fire and examine safety measures at the hospital.

Authorities continue to monitor the condition of injured staff members and patients who were shifted from the ICU.

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Arvind Kejriwal moves Supreme Court against Delhi High Court order in excise policy case

Arvind Kejriwal has approached the Supreme Court challenging a Delhi High Court order related to proceedings in the excise policy case and alleging violation of his fundamental rights.

Published

17 hours ago

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March 16, 2026

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Arvind Kejriwal

Aam Aadmi Party chief and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has approached the Supreme Court of India challenging certain proceedings in the Delhi excise policy case and alleging a violation of his fundamental rights.

In a petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, Kejriwal has questioned a decision of the Delhi High Court that put a freeze on remarks related to the investigation conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The petition also challenges an order of the High Court Chief Justice rejecting Kejriwal’s request to transfer the case to another bench.

Plea seeks change of bench

Earlier, on March 11, Kejriwal and several others submitted a representation to Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya seeking reassignment of the case to what they described as an “impartial” judge.

In the representation, Kejriwal stated that he had a “grave, bona fide and reasonable apprehension” that the matter may not receive an impartial hearing before the current bench.

However, the Chief Justice declined the request and said the petition had been assigned as per the existing roster.

According to the communication sent by the High Court’s Registrar General on March 13 to eight individuals including Kejriwal, the Chief Justice noted that any decision on recusal must be taken by the judge hearing the matter and that there was no reason to transfer the petition administratively.

Order on trial court proceedings also challenged

Kejriwal has also challenged a March 9 order passed by Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma of the Delhi High Court.

In that order, Justice Sharma had stayed a trial court direction that called for an investigation into a CBI officer who handled the excise policy case. The High Court had also asked the trial court to defer proceedings connected to the anti-money laundering aspect of the case.

Justice Sharma had further rejected certain observations made by the trial court while discharging Kejriwal and 22 others, stating that some of those remarks were erroneous.

Hearing expected on CBI plea

Meanwhile, Justice Sharma is scheduled to hear a petition filed by the CBI challenging the discharge of Kejriwal, former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and others in the excise policy case.

The matter remains under judicial consideration as the legal challenge now moves to the Supreme Court.

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