HC asks State to decide on Special Prosecutor in solar case

The State government decision rejecting the plea of industrialist Mallelil Sreedharan Nair to appoint a Special Prosecutor to conduct the solar scam case was quashed by the Kerala High Court.

The court directed the State to reconsider the plea of the petitioner and to take a decision within three weeks.

When the case came up before the court, the State submitted that solar scam was a dispute between two private individuals. It argued that the petitioner could not insist on the appointment of a Special Prosecutor as a matter of right. The State was of the view that the no public money was involved in the scam and there were no other victims in the case.

Incidentally, the petitioner had filed a case against Saritha S. Nair and Biju Radhakrishnan stating that they had duped him to the tune of ₹40 lakh by offering to set up a solar power plant at the KINFRA park, Palakkad. A Special Investigation team, which probed the case, had also filed a charge sheet in the court. Later, the petitioner moved the government for the appointment of the Special Prosecutor, which was rejected by the State government.

Rejecting the contentions of the State government, the court observed that the State had not responded properly to the grounds raised by the petitioner for the appointment of a Special Prosecutor.

The court pointed out that the State government had appointed a judicial commission to inquire into the complaints filed by the petitioner and others who were allegedly cheated by the accused in the scam.

An inquiry was ordered by the government under the Commission of Inquiry Act when it was of the opinion that the issue involved a matter of public importance. The constitution of the Special Investigation Team to probe the scam and the appointment of a Commission of Inquiry were sufficient to show that the issue involved a matter of public unimportance, the court pointed out.