Thiruvananthapuram:
In a setback to Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, a special court in Thiruvananthapuram has asked the prosecution to probe his role in the Palmolein import scam of 1992.
Passing the order, Special Vigilance Judge S Jagadeesh, rejected the report filed by investigators in April last stating there was no need for further probe to add any more person to the list of the accused.
The judge asked the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau to submit the probe report within three months.
The Chief Minister's spokesman said Mr Chandy would react to the court order after examining it closely.
The Chief Minister has, meanwhile, "welcomed any probe" into the matter and said he will fight it "legally and morally". His party, the Congress, too has backed Mr Chandy saying there is no question of the Chief Minister's resignation as the court has not made him an accused in Palmolein case.
Oommen Chandy was the Finance Minister during the period when Palmolein, an edible oil, was imported from Malaysia. A report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) found that the deal caused a loss of Rs 2.32 crore to the exchequer.
The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau filed the chargesheet in the case in 2003 in which the then Chief Minister, the late K Karunakaran, was the prime accused.
Former Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) P J Thomas, who was the then food secretary, was accused number 8 in the case. The case gained momentum in February this year when the then Food Minister T H Mustafa, an accused in the case, in a petition said that if Mr Chandy was exempted from the case, he too should be discharged.
(With PTI inputs)