The Supreme Court in the case Kasthuri Ranga v. State Rep. By Addl. Superintendent Of Police CBI And Ors observed and has adjourned the appeal moved by the Central Bureau of Investigation, CBI wherein it challenged the discharge of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the other accused in the SNC Lavalin Case.
The bench comprising of Justice Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta and Justice Ujjal Bhuyyan in the case observed and has adjourned the hearing following a request for Passover made on behalf of the Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, who in the case represents the CBI.
The counsel appearing for the ASG submitted before the court that the ASG was currently held up in another matter and has requested for a Passover.
Therefore, the court in the case observed and has refused to Passover the matter and instead adjourned it.
The present matter is related to alleged corruption in the contract given to Canadian company SNC Lavalin for the renovation of hydro-electric projects in Kerala, when Pinarayi Vijayan was the electricity minister in 1996-98.
Therefore, the Special CBI Court at Thiruvanathapuram in November 2013 discharged Pinarayi Vijayan and few other officials who were charge sheeted in the said case.
The Kerala High Court in the case observed and had upheld the discharge of Pinarayi Vijayan and the two other accused in August 2017.
Further, the Kerala High Court allowed the CBI’s plea against the discharge of 4 other accused.
Earlier the said matter was listed before the division bench comprising of Justice M R Shah and Justice C T Ravikumar.
However, Justice C T Ravikumar, who being the former judge of the Kerala High Court, recused himself a s he was part of the hearing before the Kerala High Court.