New Delhi:
The Supreme Court has dismissed a petition that asked for Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy to be made an accused in a corruption case related to the import of palmolein oil in 1991.
The scam saw the government sanctioning the import of palmolein oil from Malaysia at high prices. The decision cost the government losses that are being investigated now.
The petition against Mr Chandy was filed by a former civil servant Alphones Kannamthanam. He said that because Mr Chandy was Finance Minister when the swindle was engineered, he should be held culpable along with other politicians and bureaucrats.
The Supreme Court said it agrees with the order of the Kerala High Court which dismissed Mr Alphones' petition. The High Court had pointed out that the Vigilance Department had exonerated Mr Chandy though it had made then Chief Minister K Karunakaran an accused in the case.