Chief minster Pinarayi Vijayan on Oct 11 announced an inquiry against his predecessor Oommen Chandy and other senior Congress leaders on the basis of the commission’s recommendations.Thiruvananthapuram: The legal advice received by the Kerala government from two top law officers on the judicial commission report about the solar scam were uncannily similar in choice of words and tone. Advocate general C P Sudhakara Prasad and director general of prosecution Manjeri Sreedharan Nair submitted their written counsel to the cabinet on October 10, a day before chief minster Pinarayi Vijayan announced an inquiry against his predecessor Oommen Chandy and other senior Congress leaders on the basis of the commission’s recommendations.
The statement the chief minister read out at a press conference on October 11 merely echoed the reports by the advocate general and the director general of prosecution. Both law officers had almost the same recommendations and they were in agreement on who to sue and in which manner. The cabinet perused the judicial commission report and the legal advise from the law officers before ordering criminal proceedings against the opposition leaders.
The government had also sought legal counsel from Supreme Court former judge Arijit Pasayat, who said the government was free to accept or reject the commission’s report. It was up to the investigating agency to decide whether to file a case or not, he said. The commission’s findings could not be treated as evidence in a court of law. It was a mere recommendation to the government.
Justice Pasayat also pointed out that the commission should base its report on facts, not opinions. Though the government had ordered a probe, the investigating team was hesitant to take it up.
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