Thiruvananthapuram
The Kerala High Court on Wednesday permitted the removal of former Oommen Chandy aide Tenny Joppen from the list of accused in one of the cases linked to the politically significant Kerala solar scam. The decision came after the complainant informed the court that the dispute had been settled amicably outside the judicial process and that he no longer wished to pursue the case against Joppen.
The case was filed by businessman Mallely Sreedharan Nair, who had earlier accused Joppen of pressuring him to hand over money to the prime accused in the solar scam, Saritha S. Nair. Since the complainant expressed his intention to withdraw the allegations against Joppen, the High Court allowed his name to be removed from the array of accused. The trial in the case had not yet commenced.
Reacting to the court’s decision, Joppen said the verdict reaffirmed his long-standing claim that he had been falsely implicated for political reasons. He alleged that he had been made a scapegoat to target the late former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, under whom he had served as Personal Assistant.
I was made a scapegoat to target Oommen Chandy. I have nothing against those who worked against me. Let them be happy. I will not name anyone because everyone in the media knows who they are, Joppen told reporters after the verdict.
Recalling his experience during the investigation, Joppen alleged that he had been subjected to unnecessary harassment by investigators. He claimed that former senior police officer A. Hemachandran slapped him during questioning despite the fact that no formal case had been registered against him at that stage of the investigation.
Hemachandran, who later retired as Director General of Police, is currently serving as Special Advisor to Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala. Joppen was named as the third accused in the case primarily on the basis of the complainant’s statement.
