New Delhi: The Supreme Court is likely to hear the final argument today in the CBI’s appeal in the SNC Lavlin case. The appeal challenging the exclusion of Pinarayi Vijayan from the list of accused is pending before the Supreme Court. If the petition is considered, the Supreme Court will first hear the arguments of the CBI. Since October 2017, this is the 35th time that the appeal has come up for consideration by the Supreme Court.
The CBI claims that the state has lost Rs 86.25 crore through the contract with Canada’s SNC Lavlin. In November 2013, a special CBI court in Thiruvananthapuram dropped seven people, including Pinarayi Vijayan, from the list of accused in the SNC Lavlin case. The Supreme Court is considering an appeal filed by the CBI against the High Court verdict which upheld this verdict.
In December 2017, the CBI approached the Supreme Court against the exclusion of three persons including Pinarayi Vijayan from the accused list. Pinarayi Vijayan, former Energy Department Secretary K Mohanachandran and former Energy Department Joint Secretary A Francis have been dropped from the list of accused.
