SC fixes Lavalin case in May even as CBI asks for dates in March or April

The Supreme Court on Tuesday fixed the appeals in the SNC Lavalin corruption case against the discharge of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan from May 1. Mr. Vijayan was discharged as an accused by both the Special Court, CBI, in Thiruvananthapuram, and the Kerala High Court. The case concerns the loss of ₹86.25 crore in the Kerala State Electricity Board’s (KSEB) contract with Lavalin for the renovation and modernisation of Pallivasai, Sengulam and Panniar hydroelectric projects in Idukki district of Kerala. Mr. Vijayan was the State’s Power Minister then

The Supreme Court on Tuesday fixed the appeals in the SNC Lavalin corruption case against the discharge of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan from May 1.

Appearing before a Bench of Justices Surya Kant and K.V. Viswanathan, Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, appearing for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), sought an early date, possibly in March or April.

When the Bench said its calendar was chock-a-block for both the months, Mr. Raju even said the Central agency could take a chance for a hearing or even file written submissions of its arguments to save time for the court.

The court initially fixed the dates from May 8, but later changed it to May 1 and May 2 so that it could have two days, back-to-back, for hearing the case.

One of the appellants said the case had been listed 30 times since 2017, and adjourned every time.

The CBI counsel said the agency was not to blame for the adjournments.

“It is not that the CBI is disinclined to take up the case… The case can be fixed for any date,” the counsel submitted.