Balakrishna Pillai released

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, MARCH 24. The Kerala Congress(B) leader and former Power Minister, Mr. R. Balakrishna Pillai, and the former chairman of the Kerala State Electricity Board, Mr. P. Kesava Pillai, who were convicted to one-year imprisonment on charges of corruption in the first module of the Graphite Case, were today released from the Central Prison, Pojappura, after the Supreme Court granted them bail on Friday while admitting the Special Leave Petitions filed by the accused against their sentence.

The Supreme Court's order granting bail to the accused was faxed to the Vigilance Court here at around 9.45 a.m. An attested copy of the same order was brought to the court by Mr. Kodikunnil Suresh, MP, at 11.30 a.m.

The Supreme Court Bench which considered the Special Leave Petitions comprised the Chief Justice, Dr. Justice. A.S. Anand, and Mr. Justice Brijesh Kumar. The court had directed the accused to furnish a bond of Rs. 20,000 each with two sureties for a similar sum.

The sons-in-law of Mr. Balakrishna Pillai, both senior civil servants, Mr. K. Mohandas, IAS, and Mr. T. Balakrishnan, IAS, stood as sureties for the Kerala Congress(B) leader. After the bail conditions imposed by the Supreme Court were met, the Vigilance court ordered the release of Mr. Balakrishna Pillai and Mr. Kesava Pillai on bail. The court's order was despatched to the Superintendent, Central Prison, Poojappura.

At around 12.45 a.m., Mr. Pillai stepped out of the Central Prison to be thronged by hundreds of his supporters who had arrived from his constituency in Kottarakara. Speaking to mediapersons after his release, Mr. Pillai said the jail staff had treated him well despite directions from the Chief Minister's office against it. He accused the Director General of Police (Prisons), Mr. R.P.C. Nair, of expressing displeasure with the jail staff who were kind to him. Mr. Pillai said his conviction in the Graphite Case and the chargesheet against Mr. K. Karunakaran in the palmolein import case were part of a political conspiracy hatched by the LDF to snare Opposition leaders in false and fabricated cases.

He said his imprisonment in the Graphite case would not augur well for the LDF and the fallout of his ``harassment'' would reflect in the coming Legislative Assembly polls, particularly in Kollam district.

Later, Mr. Pillai was taken to his home-town in Kottarakara accompanied by a large motorcade of cars and vehicles carrying his supporters. En route, Mr. Pillai rested for sometime at his son-in-law, Mr. T. Balakrishnan's house at Vazhuthacaud.

Both the accused, who were sentenced by the Vigilance Court to one-year simple imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 10,000 each for offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act in the first module of the case were committed to the Central Prison, Poojappura, on March 16 after their conviction was upheld by the Kerala High Court on March 2. In its order, the High Court had directed Mr. Balakrishna Pillai and Mr. Kesava Pillai to surrender before the Special Court and undergo the sentence that had been imposed on them.

Mr. Balakrishna Pillai and Mr. Kesava Pillai had surrendered before the Special Judge and Enquiry Commissioner, Mr. N. K. Balakrishnan, on March 16 after the Vigilance Court here issued a non-bailable warrant against them.

The charge against the accused was that they sold 1.22 crore units of power illegally to the Karnataka-based Graphite Industries during the period from October 1984 to August 1985, thus helping the company to make an illegal profit of Rs. 19.59 lakhs.

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Section  : Southern States
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