Supreme Court to Review Decade-Old SNC-Lavalin Case Involving Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan
The Supreme Court is set to review the long-standing SNC-Lavalin case on Tuesday, a politically significant matter involving Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. A three-member bench comprising Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta, and Ujjal Bhuyan will consider the case.
This decade-old case, which has posed challenges for Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the past, has been listed more than 30 times before four different benches of the apex court over six years.
At the heart of the matter is a plea filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against the 2017 High Court verdict that acquitted Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Energy Department Secretary K.A Francis. Additionally, the Supreme Court will hear a petition filed by former electrical board financial advisor K.G. Rajasekharan Nair, former chairman of the board R Sivadasan, and former Chief Engineer Kasturi Ranga Iyer. All three are awaiting trial proceedings in the case.
The case revolves around the awarding of a contract to Canadian company SNC Lavalin for the renovation of three hydel projects – Chengulam, Pallivasal, and Panniyar – during Pinarayi Vijayan’s tenure as the power minister in the EK Nayanar cabinet between 1996 and 1998. The contract allegedly resulted in a loss of Rs 86.25 crore.
