Supreme Court okays trial on Kerala palm oil import
Trouble continued to dog Chief Vigilance Commissioner PJ Thomas as the Supreme Court on Tuesday okayed a Kerala government request to carry on the trial in the multi-crore palmolein oil scam involving him and former Chief Minister K Karunakaran.
The apex court bench, comprising justices RM Lodha and Aftab Alam, ordered the go ahead after treating Karunakaran’s appeal as “abated” because of his death on Dec 23 2010.
The Kerala government sought a vacation order against a stay in the palmolein oil import trial, involving Thomas, who was in Kerala as food secretary.
The SC on Aug 3, 2007, had stayed the proceedings in this regard before a designated CBI court in Kerala.
A chargesheet filed in 2000 against the then chief minister K Karunakaran and seven state government officials, accused them of importing palm oil from a Singapore firm with prices higher than the international rate.
The Opposition parties, particularly the Bharatiya Janata Party, have been demanding removal of Thomas from the CVC since he stood an accused in the palmolein oil import irregularities.
