The Hindu : SC acquits Balakrishna Pillai

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 01, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala

SC acquits Balakrishna Pillai

By J. Venkatesan

The Kerala Transport Minister, K. B. Ganesh Kumar, submitting his resignation to the Kerala Congress (B) chairman and his father, R. Balakrishna Pillai, in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. The Minister submitted his resignation to make way for his father to join the Ministry — Photo: S. Gopakumar

NEW DELHI FEB. 28. The Supreme Court today acquitted the former Kerala Power Minister, R. Balakrishna Pillai, and the former chairman of the Kerala State Electricity Board, P. Kesava Pillai, who were convicted by the trial court and the High Court to undergo one-year imprisonment in the graphite corruption case.

The Bench, comprising Justice R.C. Lahoti and Justice Brijesh Kumar, set aside the judgment of the Kerala High Court dated March 2, 2001 upholding conviction by the trial court, which also imposed on the `accused' a fine of Rs. 10,000 in default to undergo two months' rigorous imprisonment.

A three-Judge Bench had in March 2001 stayed the impugned judgment.

Allowing the appeal, the Bench agreed with their contention that even according to the prosecution, there was no revenue loss to the Kerala Government and that they did not obtain any pecuniary gain.

The case of the prosecution was that the accused had sold 1,22,41,440 units of power at the rate of 42 paise per unit illegally to the Karnataka-based Graphite Industries Ltd. during the period from October 1984 to August 1985, without the consent of the Kerala Government.

Their action had allegedly resulted in pecuniary advantage to the tune of Rs. 19,58,630.40 to Graphite India Ltd. as the Karnataka Electricity Board was selling power to its industries at the rate of 80 paise per unit.

The special judge in 1996 found them guilty of charges under Section 5 (1) (d) and Sec. 5 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act and sentenced each of them to undergo one-year rigorous imprisonment.

On appeal in the High Court, a single judge, after hearing the case, did not pronounce order for nearly two years and thereafter it was posted before a Division Bench, which upheld the conviction and sentence on March 2.

In their special leave petition, the accused contended that the State Electricity Board had sold power only to the Kerala Electricity Board, which only fixed different rates for the industries, adding that there was no loss for the State or gain for them.

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