Kochi: The Kerala government Tuesday informed
the High Court that it had no objection to the vigilance court proceeding with its investigation into the role of Chief
Minister Oommen Chandy in the Palmolein case.
Chandy was finance minister in the K Karunakaran cabinet in 1992 when the government decided to import palmolein. The deal reportedly caused a loss of Rs 2.32 crore to the stateexchequer.
The state government has agreed for further investigation in the case, Advocate General K P Dhandapani informed the High Court and said the government was prepared to complete
the probe within six weeks, if permitted.
The undertaking has been given at a time when the court
has stayed further proceedings in the case till October 29 on
a petition by senior IAS officer Jiji Thomson, who challenged
the vigilance court order.
The Advocate General told the court that the state had no
objection in continuing the investigation as it was already
half way through the probe. The report can be filed in a
sealed cover within six weeks, he submitted.
Justice K T Sankaran recorded the AG`s submission and posted the matter to October 25.
Meanwhile, impleadment petitions of Opposition leader V S
Achuthanandan, bureaucrat-turned-politician Alphonse
Kannamthanam and All India Lawyers Forum also came up before
the court. While Achuthanandan`s counsel did not oppose the
government proposal to proceed with the investigation,
Kannamthanam, who was present, objected to the suggestion.
Achuthanandan had submitted that Thomson, also an accused
in the case, had no locus standi to challenge the orders
passed by the vigilance special judge in respect of probe
against Chandy.
PTI
