Former Kerala minister sentenced to one year RI

Almost 20 years after he was accused of having entered into a criminal conspiracy and causing a loss of over Rs2 crore to the Kerala State Electricity Board, former Kerala power minister R Balakrishnan Pillai was on Thursday awarded one year's rigorous imprisonment by the Supreme Court.

Reversing the acquittal order passed by the Kerala high court, the apex court held Pillai and two others guilty in the Idamalayar dam corruption case. The former minister was accused of awarding contracts for building a power tunnel to a contractor at inflated rates.

Though the scandal surfaced in 1982, it took almost 10 years for the Kerala government to initiate action against Pillai. A trial court found the former minister and two others guilty of the charges and sentenced them to five years rigorous imprisonment. Pillai, whose Kerala Congress (B) is an ally of the Congress-led United Demcoratic Front (UDF), had appealed to the high court, which acquitted him and the others involved in the case.

The Kerala government, then ruled by the UDF, did not file an appeal, but V S Achuthanandan - the veteran Marxist who is now the state's chief minister and was earlier leader of the opposition - challenged the acquittal in the Supreme Court. While Pillai argued that as leader of the opposition Achuthanandan did not have any locus standi in the case, the apex court rejected his plea.

Setting aside the high court's acquittal of Pillai, the Supreme Court expressed surprise that it had overlooked the evidence presented by the prosecution, which had led to the trial court sentencing him. The Supreme Court also expressed anguish over the delays in corruption cases involving politicians, and directed all trial courts handling such cases to expeditiously clear them. It also asked high courts to monitor such cases and seek quarterly reports from the trial courts.

Reacting to the sentencing, Pillai said he would surrender to the court after getting the summons. Achuthanandan, the 86-year-old chief minister, said he felt vindicated by the judgment. "This should come as a warning to those who thrive by stealing public money," said the chief minister.

The Marxist leader is also pursuing the palmolein oil import case in which Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) P J Thomas is one of the accused.