Former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Tuesday appeared before the Ernakulam Chief Judicial Magistrate Court to give his statement in a defamation complaint filed against solar panel scam accused Saritha S. Nair and four others.
S. Aji Kumar, Chief Judicial Magistrate, recorded Mr. Chandy’s statement, during which he said the allegations of sexual harassment against him were part of a conspiracy.
The recording lasted for 20 minutes, following which the court posted the case for further proceedings till next month.
Earlier, Mr. Chandy, accompanied by Congress leaders K. Babu, Hibi Eden, MLA, Tony Chammany, and K.M.I. Mather, arrived at the court around 11.30 a.m.
‘Truncated letter’
Mr. Chandy filed the defamation case against Saritha and four journalists in connection with the airing of the defamatory contents of a letter allegedly written by Saritha in 2013.
In the complaint, Mr. Chandy stated that Saritha had published a ‘truncated letter,’ acting in collusion with the journalists, wherein she alleged that she was raped by the complainant at his official residence at Cliff House in Thiruvananthapuram.
Mr. Chandy further claimed that the letter was drafted at the “instance of his adversaries to tarnish his image and reputation,” and to ensure the defeat of the Congress party in the Assembly elections.
