Oommen Chandy gets partial relief in solar scam case

Kochi: Former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Tuesday got partial relief in the solar scam scam case as the High Court said allegations of sexual exploitation against him need not be taken into account.

The court`s direction came while hearing Chandy`s petition over the solar scam Commission report. It said findings of the commission based on the letter of accused Saritha Nair which alleges sexual exploitation need not be considered. 

However, the court failed to stay the ongoing probe based on the Commission report, which was also another demand of Chandy.

Chandy, approached the court demanding the one member Justice (retired) Sivarajan Commission be stayed as it had gone beyond its brief, and the letter of Saritha was never part of the Commission`s terms of reference. Hence, the probe that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan ordered based on the letter should not take place.

The multi-crore solar energy investment fraud that rocked the Chandy government in 2013 was led by Saritha Nair and her live-in partner Biju Radhakrishnan, as it came to light that a section of the Chief Minister`s office had links with the couple.

The sleaze letter written by Nair when she was in jail names Chandy and numerous other top Congress leaders of sexually exploiting her.

Following the huge public outcry led by the then Left opposition, Chandy in 2014 announced that the Sivarajan Commission will probe the case.

With the change of government in 2016, the report was submitted last year to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

Last year, on October 11, Vijayan told the media the judicial report had been accepted, adding that cases would be registered against Chandy and others based on Nair`s letter that claimed she was sexually exploited.

Later, the former Kerala Chief Minister approached the high court and brought in senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal as his counsel.

Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala said the manner in which Vijayan tried to finish off political rivals based on a `letter` has fallen flat and the very basis of the Commission report also has lost its credibility.