Vijayan flouted norms to favour Canadian firm

The CBI has sought to charge CPI(M) politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan as the ninth accused in the SNC-Lavalin case. In the progress report submitted before the Kerala high court on Wednesday, the agency lines up evidence to show that then electricity minister Vijayan — along with former energy principal secretary K Mohanachandran and joint secretary A Francis — conspired to give a multi-crore contract to the
Canadian firm flouting central norms in 1996. Mohanachandran is the first and Francis the 10th accused in the case.

The CBI’s Chennai unit, which is awaiting governor’s permission before submitting chargesheet against the 11 accused, said the case merits Section 420 and relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Vijayan, the chief of CPI(M) in Kerala, has been accused of criminal conspiracy, breach of trust and misuse of office. The agency requested permission from the governor and the chief secretary to prosecute the accused on January 16. The chief secretary has forwarded it to the home department.

The agency also puts the Canadian engineering major in the dock. SNC-Lavalin stands as the eleventh accused. Its vice-president, Klaus Triendl, is the eighth accused.