Supreme Court clears way for trial of CVC chief in Kerala court
11 Jan 2011
Controversial chief vigilance commissioner (CVC) P J Thomas, accused of criminal conspiracy in Kerala's palmolein oil scam, is caught in an embarrassing position, with the Supreme Court on Tuesday vacating a stay in the case.
The apex court vacated the stay following the death of former Kerala chief minister K Karunarakan – one of the eight accused in the scam – on 23 December.
The Congress leader had challenged the trial in a Thiruvananthapuram court and the apex court had stayed the trial of the accused in 2007.
With the passing of Karunakaran, the court said on Tuesday that the trial could now proceed and the lower court can go ahead with the framing of charges against the remaining accused persons, including Thomas.
A public interest litigation had also been filed against Thomas, urging that he be sacked as CVC as he was a tainted person, accused in the palmolein oil import case.
The case dates back to 1991, when Karunakaran was the chief minister and Thomas the food secretary and member of the Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation.
The Karunakaran ministry had approved the import of 15,000 tonnes of the oil from a Singapore firm at a rate of $405 a tonne, which was allegedly higher than the then prevailing rate of $392, resulting in a loss of about Rs2.8 crore.
The scam surfaced two years later and the Left Front government ordered the registration of a case in 1996. The matter has been shuttling between courts in Kerala and the apex court. Karunakaran and the other accused dismissed it as political vendetta against them.