Saritha mulls cross-examining CM Oommen Chandy

Kochi: Though Chief Minister  Oommen Chandy had appeared before the solar commission and spent 14 hours recently, he may have to appear before it  once again as  Saritha S. Nair is set to cross-examine him.

According to Mr  C.D. Johny, counsel for Saritha,  the application for cross-examining the CM would  be filed soon.

“The CM's counsel would cross-examine Saritha  on February 9 and we will finalise the proceedings after that,”  he added.

In his deposition, Mr Chandy had claimed that he had met  Saritha  only  three times but she has refuted the claim and made major revelations,  including his  involvement in the solar deal.  When Mr Chandy  made his depositions before the commission,  Saritha's counsel opted not to cross-examine him.

“We are waiting for the CM's counsel to complete the cross-examination. Considering the impact of the cross- examination,  we will prepare ourselves and file a request,”  Saritha's counsel added.

As per the Commissions of Enquiry Act 1952,  the solar commission can re-examine the CM after the collection of evidence.

Retired Justice Sivarajan is heading the solar  commission appointed by the government in the wake of widespread protests by the Opposition parties after the  scam broke out.
 

When the commission heard him in Thiruvananthapuram,  he  had informed the commission that he met Saritha  only thrice  and that when he found that she was involved in cheating cases, the government took action against her.

However,  Saritha produced the call records revealing that she had made more than 2,500 calls to the CM and his aide.