Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Friday filed a civil defamation case against the main accused in the solar scam main accused, Saritha Nair, and four journalists for raising serious charges against him in a letter purportedly written by her.
In the plea filed in Ernakulam CJM court, Chandy said the five entered into a criminal conspiracy to defame him publicly. He said the letter, purportedly written by Saritha three years ago, was released just before the assembly election as part of a political conspiracy.
The court will take up his plea on May 28.
The four journalists mentioned in the plea are: MG Radhakrishnan, editor of Asianet New, Vinu V John, news anchor at Asianet, Manoj K Varma, chief news editor of Kairali News and K Rajendran, senior news editor of Kairali news channel. Kairali channel is owned by the CPI(M).
Last Sunday, the Asianet News channel had released the letter in which Saritha alleged that the CM had sexually assaulted her at his official residence four years ago. The CM has denied the accusation.
The solar scam case surfaced when Saritha Nair and her live-in partner Biju Radhakrishnan were arrested in 2013 on charges of cheating investors who had paid money for solar panels. While Nair is out on bail, Radhakrishnan is in jail on charges of murdering his first wife.
{{/usCountry}}The solar scam case surfaced when Saritha Nair and her live-in partner Biju Radhakrishnan were arrested in 2013 on charges of cheating investors who had paid money for solar panels. While Nair is out on bail, Radhakrishnan is in jail on charges of murdering his first wife.
{{/usCountry}}A judicial commission has been set up to probe the scam.